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ADVANCED Bible Study

TRANSFORMED: MY LIFE IN GOD’S KINGDOM

RE-FINANCE: ANCIENT WISDOM FOR MODERN MONEY MANAGEMENT

Summer 2016

H O W T O B E C O M E A C H R I S T I A N

It’s Your ChoiceWe like having choices. We prefer a menu with several selec-tions or dozens of TV channels to choose from. Of course, too many choices can overwhelm us.

The biggest choice we’ll ever make, however, is not a hard one. Our biggest choice has only two options: Life or death. That’s the choice.

At one time, we had no choice. Because of our sin and re-bellion against God, we were destined for death. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took our sin upon Himself, and died on a cross to set us free from death. God then raised Jesus from the dead, which means He offers us a new, eternal life.

Now the choice is ours. We must choose to believe and trust what Jesus has done for us to be set free from sin and death. Our destiny rests in what we do with Jesus: “The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12).

If you would like to live forever with Christ, repent of your sins and put your faith in Him. Admit to God that you are a sinner. Turn from your sin and accept Jesus’ gift of forgive-ness. Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Express your repentance and faith by praying—Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died on

the cross to forgive my sins. I’m sorry for all the wrong I’ve done and ask You to forgive me. I now accept Your gift of eternal life. Thank You for Your love, forgiveness, and a new life in Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Share your decision to follow Jesus with a pastor and those in your Bible study group. Get involved in a church that will help you grow in your faith, and be baptized as a public expression of your faith.

TRANSFORMED: MY LIFE IN GOD’S KINGDOM

Suggested use date

June 5 Session 1 Transformed in My Worship 7 Matthew 6:1-8,16-18

June 12 Session 2 Transformed in My Prayer 20 Matthew 6:9-15

June 19 Session 3 Transformed in My Possessions 33 Matthew 6:19-24

June 26 Session 4 Transformed in My Plans 46 Matthew 6:25-34

July 3 Session 5 Transformed in My Opinions 59 Matthew 7:1-12

July 10 Session 6 Transformed By My Choices 72 EVANGELISM SESSION Matthew 7:13-27

RE-FINANCE: ANCIENT WISDOM FOR MONEY MANAGEMENT

July 17 Session 7 View Money Properly 86 Proverbs 23:4-5; 30:5-9

July 24 Session 8 Make Agreements Cautiously 99 Proverbs 6:1-5; 22:7

July 31 Session 9 Earn Money Productively 112 Proverbs 6:6-11

August 7 Session 10 Manage Money Diligently 125 Proverbs 31:13-21August 14 Session 11 Invest Money Wisely 138 Ecclesiastes 11:1-6August 21 Session 12 Give Money Generously 151 Proverbs 11:23-29

SPECIAL FOCUS SESSION

August 28 Session 13 Love Gets Involved 164 Luke 10:25-37

CONTENTS

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ADVANCED Bible Study

BIBLE STUDIES FOR LIFEThe Advanced Bible Study Commentary

SUMMER 2016Volume 10, Number 4

ERIC GEIGERVice President, Church Resources

RONNIE FLOYDGeneral Editor

LYNN H. PRYORTeam Leader

ROSS H. McLARENContent Editor

KEN BRADDYManager, Adult Ongoing Bible Studies

MICHAEL KELLYDirector, Groups Ministry

Send questions/comments to:Editor, Advanced Commentary

One LifeWay PlazaNashville, TN 37234-0175

Or make comments on the Web atwww.lifeway.com

Acknowledgments—We believe the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. To review LifeWay’s doctrinal guide-line, please visit www.lifeway.com/doctrinal guideline.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Quotations marked ESV are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. Passages marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible. Passages marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. © The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. Quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. Quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982. Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. Reprinted with permission. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Advanced Bible Study Commentary® (ISSN 2330-9423; Item 005075005) is published quarterly by LifeWay, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom Rainer, President. © Copyright 2015 LifeWay.

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Meet the Writers

HAL LANE wrote the commentary for the study Transformed: My Life in God’s King-dom. Hal is a graduate of the University of South Caro-lina (B.A.) and Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M.). He is a former president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention and former president of the S.C. Baptist Pastors Conference. Hal is pastor of West Side Baptist Church in Greenwood, South Carolina. He and his wife, Eileen, have one son.

DUANE GARRETT, professor of Old Testament at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote the Bible expositions for the study Re-Finance: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Money Management. Dr. Garrett is a member of Westport Road Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Duane holds a B.A. degree from Rice University, a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from Baylor University. He is married to Patricia. They have three children. He is the author of numerous commentaries on books of the Old Testament.

STEPHEN CARLSON received his Ph.D. from Mid- America Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served as an adjunct professor for The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Present-ly he is involved in a church plant in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Dr. Carlson wrote the Special Focus Session “Love Gets Involved.”

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STUDY THEME

Why This Study Is Important:We tend to live our lives in compartments—our family, our work and career, our social life, our community, sports, or school connections. Often these are separate from each other and comprised of a whole different set of relation-ships. These areas rarely, if ever, overlap. Many Christians do the same thing with their spiritual life, seeing it as just another compartment with little or no bearing on the other areas of their lives. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7), Jesus connected our relationship to God and His Kingdom to every aspect of life. A relationship with Jesus doesn’t just transform us spiritually; it transforms every aspect of life.

This study connects to Christ because engaging in spiri-tual disciplines will deepen our walk with Christ.

This study connects to community in that we are to pray for each other and with each other. The church is to model what a caring, non-judgmental community looks like.

This study connects to culture for how believers han-dle finances and resources stands in sharp contrast to the greedy and worrisome mindset of the world. Indeed, the way of the world may seem easier, but the world can never deliver what Christ offers.

Transformed: My Life in God’s Kingdom

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THE PASSAGE

Matthew 6:1-8,16-18

THE POINT

Giving, praying, and fasting are disciplines of personal worship.

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE

Motion sensors have become a common feature in a culture focused on energy conservation. Motion sensors are fre-quently integrated with light switches and lavatory faucets. Lights come on only when someone enters a room. Water comes from the faucet only when a hand comes close. When we leave the room or remove our hands from the sink, ac-tivity ceases until someone else approaches. Unfortunately, some people’s spiritual activities are similar to these mo-tion-sensing devices. Some people only give, pray, and fast when people are present to impress. Their motivation in practicing these activities is directly related to the recep-tion of praise from others. If no one is present to see and approve, their activity ceases.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned His followers against hypocritical religious practices. True spirituality is

SESSION 1TRANSFORMED IN MY WORSHIP

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Session 1 Transformed In My Worship

motivated by a desire to honor God and grow in our inti-macy with Him. Some spiritual leaders in Jesus’ day used giving to the poor, prayer, and fasting to gain admiration and approval by others. Unfortunately, the misuse of spiri-tual disciplines for reasons of pride continues in the lives of some within the church today. Jesus urged everyone to consider their motives and pursue genuine worship of God in ways that avoid prideful displays. He warned that God would not reward hypocritical acts aimed at impressing people. As we study this week’s session, we will want to ex-amine our own motives in worship and spiritual practices.

THE SETTING

Somewhere in the vicinity of Capernaum on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus delivered His longest and most comprehensive sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus surprised His audience with authoritative teachings that commanded outward and inward conformity to the laws of God. Matthew 5 began with eight beatitudes that ex-pressed the characteristics of true citizens of the kingdom of God. Jesus next stated His absolute agreement with the moral principles of Old Testament revelation. He declared God capable of looking beyond human actions and into the mind and motivations of the heart. Jesus revealed that God’s judgment would take into account thoughts as well as deeds. Chapter 5 concluded with a call to pursue the moral perfection of God Himself (Matt. 5:48). In Matthew 6, Jesus continued His emphasis on the motivation behind outward spiritual acts of worship and service.

Previously in the Sermon, Jesus warned His disciples that their righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees if they were to enter the kingdom of God (5:20). In the section of the

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THE POINT: Giving, praying, and fasting are disciplines of personal worship.

Sermon we will focus on this week, Jesus pointed to exam-ples of the Pharisees’ hypocritical practices. The Pharisees represented the largest group of religious leaders in first-cen-tury Judaism. Many in Jewish society at this time considered the Pharisees to be the most zealous practitioners of Old Tes-tament laws. Jesus saw many in Pharisaism as self-righteous and prideful hypocrites. He directed many of His most force-ful criticisms at those who practiced religious hypocrisy.

STUDY THE BIBLE

Matthew 6:1-4

1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Give to Please God and Not to Draw Attention to Your-self. The Greek verb translated be careful is the first of five warnings Jesus gave to His followers concerning false teachers (7:15) and hypocritical religious leaders (16:6,11,12) in Matthew. This section of the Sermon on the Mount refutes the modern myth that Jesus did not judge others. Jesus saw and condemned the common perversion of true piety by the religious leaders of His day. He did not want His followers to be deceived by them or to follow their practices.

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Righteousness refers to all spiritual acts of obedience to God, not just to helping the poor. The King James Version’s rendering of this Greek noun as “alms” was influenced by the first example of a righteous deed, giving to the poor. In this context righteousness refers to giving of alms, prayer, and fasting. These three activities are sometimes referred to as spiritual disciplines.

Spiritual disciplines are biblically mandated practices that faithful believers practice in their worship of and ser-vice to God. Spiritual disciplines, when performed correct-ly, please God and contribute to spiritual growth. As disci-plines, they are godly habits that should be performed on a regular basis. True spiritual disciplines are motivated and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual disciplines, how-ever, can be perverted and performed hypocritically. Satan deceives unbelievers and many believers into thinking that they can perform spiritual disciplines in their own strength and for their own purposes. When acts of giving to the poor, prayer, and fasting are performed for inferior motives, they are acts of unrighteousness. Jesus encouraged all believers to examine their motives to determine if they were prac-ticing acts of righteousness or unrighteousness. By watch-ing others we cannot always determine the difference—but God always does.

The command not to do acts of righteousness in front of people appears to contradict Jesus’ statement to let others see our good deeds so that God may be glorified (Matt. 5:16). Acts of service to God and to others in obedience to God are sometimes public and at other times private. Whether public or private, they must always be done with a motiva-tion to bring glory to God and not to ourselves. Those who pursue spiritual demonstrations for the applause of other people steal God’s glory (Is. 42:8).

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Jesus addressed the false piety that characterized many of the religious leaders of His day. They appeared to be doing acts of righteousness for God, but in God’s eyes they were self-serving. Jesus warned that those who sought recogni-tion from others for their good deeds would never receive reward from God. Those who performed their acts of righ-teousness for human praise hoped they would also receive praise from God. We can never simultaneously seek praise from other people and from God. Humble believers who are praised for their acts by others are quick to redirect the praise to God. The reward from God refers to the eternal treasure that God will give to those who humbly obey His will. Eternal, not earthly, treasure should be the pursuit of every follower of Jesus (Matt. 6:19-20).

In verse 2, Jesus focused on the giving of alms to the poor as the first of three examples of acts of righteousness. The Mosaic law commanded care for the poor (Deut. 15:11) and poverty in the first century A.D. often meant the difference between life and death for those who were destitute. Giving to help the poor was not considered a voluntary act but a necessary one. Failure to give to the poor was an act of sin against God (Deut. 15:9-10). The failure to give to someone in need is a sin of omission (Jas. 4:17).

Many gave to help the poor, but not everyone gave for the right reasons. The end does not justify the means in spiritual disciplines. Jesus called out the hypocrites who sounded a trumpet to be applauded by people for their generos-ity. The Greek word translated hypocrites was used of ac-tors on the stage in Greek plays. The Greeks used masks to portray different characters and the word hypocrite came to mean someone who concealed his or her true motives. Trumpets were used to call people to assemblies, and some have thought Jesus’ reference to the practice of blowing

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trumpets when giving was literal. More likely, the reference was metaphorical and referred to some subtle ways reli-gious leaders drew attention to themselves when they were giving their alms. This would be similar to our saying about braggarts “blowing their own horn.” These acts were com-mon in the synagogues and on the streets. The hypo-critical givers always made sure others were present to see and applaud their generosity. If their gifts were given for hu-man applause, Jesus warned that this would be the extent of their reward. God never rewards acts of pride.

Jesus gave a simple and foolproof method to ensure that giving to help the poor was not for human applause. He urged, whenever possible, that giving to the poor be done in secret. The phrase that describes the left hand not know-ing what the right hand is doing symbolizes absolute se-crecy. When only God knows what has been done, only God can reward. Those who choose to give anonymously dem-onstrate faith in God, who alone can see their righteous act of charity and worship in obedience to Him. Not every act of charitable giving can be done secretly, but this is always the first choice for those who desire to ensure the purity of their motives.

What are some lasting truths in Matthew 6:1-4?1. God commands that we help the poor.2. Helping the poor should always be done in obedience to

and for the glory of God.3. Jesus warned against the hypocrisy of helping others to

receive human applause.4. Only those who give to help others for God’s glory will

receive divine reward.5. We should give anonymously to help others whenever

possible; our gifts should not be given to draw attention to ourselves.

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Matthew 6:5-8

5 “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! 6 But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him.

Pray with Humble Sincerity. The second act of righ-teousness Jesus addressed was the spiritual discipline of prayer. Prayer, like giving to the poor, can be an activity that pleases or displeases God. In verses 5-6, Jesus addressed the importance of sincerity in directing our prayers to God. Jesus warned against praying like the hypocrites. Hyp-ocrite is a favorite term Jesus used to designate religious pretenders in Matthew’s Gospel (13 times). As in the case of the giving of alms, the hypocritical person prays only when other people are present. The reference to prayers in the synagogues was not unusual but praying on the street corners was not common. Some commentators have sug-gested that the hypocrites would time their movements so they would be in public places at the designated times of prayer. The common factor in both of the locations men-tioned was the presence of many people to hear and be im-pressed by the prayers of the religious pretenders.

As in the case of the one giving to the poor to impress oth-ers, Jesus warned that those who prayed with wrong motives

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would receive no reward from God. We probably all have ex-perienced or been guilty of speaking to the crowd around us in prayer rather than to God. The person praying addresses God, but clearly his or her focus is on the faults of the people around and prayer is a cover for a desire to condemn others. Still others glory in their eloquence when praying before a crowd. They change their tone of voice and vocabulary to impress others concerning their knowledge and spiritual-ity. Many who hear these people are not perceptive and fail to recognize their hypocrisy. Listeners praise the prideful person and that motivates a hypocrite to want more praise. These are the kinds of people Jesus had in mind. People who use spiritual disciplines to obtain praise also frequently are divisive and controlling in church life. They use their self-righteous deeds to obtain and hold on to power.

What are the divine rewards for proper prayer? In the pre-vious example of giving, Jesus spoke specifically of charita-ble giving. Here the content and purpose of the prayers are not specified. We can assume Jesus had all kinds of prayers in mind. We will examine the comprehensive model prayer He gave to His disciples in our next session. Here prayer could include praise, petition, intercession, and any com-bination of these purposes. One of the rewards for prayers of petition would be to receive what we asked for. This as-sumes the person praying asks for something that God de-sires to give (1 John 5:14). Even when our prayers of peti-tion are not answered in the way we desire, we can know that God has heard and given us what is best. Those who pretend to pray and petition God will not receive anything from God because they asked with wrong motives (Jas. 4:3). A second type of reward for those who properly pray in-volves eternal reward. Godly prayers are offerings to God (Heb. 13:15) and fall into the category of acts of obedience

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and service to God. The hypocrite who seeks applause from people forfeits both the answers to prayer and the reward for faithful worship in prayer.

Jesus’ teaching to guarantee sincerity in prayer was to pray in secret. The Greek noun translated private room refers to a place where one can be alone. When no one else is pres-ent to hear our prayer, we can be certain that we are pray-ing to God alone. Jesus did not imply that we should never pray publicly. True worship involves prayer in the presence of others as well as privately. Jesus sought out places of soli-tude for prayer during His public ministry (Matt. 14:23). The person who seeks after the applause of people will only pray when people are present. Godly persons will emphasize the private times of prayer when they are alone with God.

In verses 7-8, Jesus expanded His teaching about prayer beyond the issue of sincerity. He warned His disciples not to babble like the idolaters. Jesus clearly did not subscribe to the teaching that all religions worship the same God and all prayers offered in other religions have equal value to Chris-tian prayers. The ineffectiveness of the prayers of the priests of Baal and the effectiveness of Elijah’s prayer on Mount Carmel illustrate this principle (1 Kings 18:26-38). Jesus pro-nounced the religions of the Gentiles—the idolaters—to be idolatry and the prayers to their deities meaningless and ineffective. Jesus warned His followers not to imitate their use of many words. God is not persuaded by the repetition of words. More importantly, our prayers do not inform God. God knows our needs even before we ask Him. (For further background, see the article “Gentile Prayer Practices,” in the current Summer 2016 issue of Biblical Illustrator.)

This suggests a question that some people often struggle with regarding God’s sovereignty and prayer. If God knows what we need, why should we pray? God commands prayer.

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James told us that we have not because we ask not (Jas. 4:2). Prayer expresses our faith in God to provide for our needs. As a loving parent, God knows what we His children need before we ask, but He loves to hear our requests. Prayer is the believer’s constant connection to God and an essential link to spiritual growth and maturity. Jesus revealed rea-sons to pray in the “model prayer” He gave to His disciples.

What are some lasting truths in Matthew 6:5-8?1. Prayer should always be directed to God alone.2. Prayer is an essential component of the Christian’s walk

with God.3. Our greatest and most frequent times of prayer should

be when we are alone with God.4. God does not desire meaningless repetition in

our prayers.5. Prayer does not inform God of our needs.6. God knows our needs before we ask and always pro-

vides abundantly.

Matthew 6:16-18

16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be sad-faced like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head, and wash your face, 18 so that you don’t show your fasting to people but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Deny Yourselves Without Making a Show of It. Fast-ing was the third spiritual discipline Jesus addressed in this section of His sermon. Jesus began His comments about

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fasting in the same way He introduced the topics of giving to the poor and prayer (6:2,5). The phrase whenever you fast indicates Jesus’ expectation that His disciples would include fasting in their practice of spiritual disciplines. Fasting re-fers to the voluntary abstinence from food—and sometimes drink—for a specified period of time. The one mandatory fast under the Mosaic law occurred on the Day of Atonement (“practice self-denial,” Lev. 16:29). Fasting is frequently as-sociated in the Old Testament with grief (1 Sam. 31:13) and penitence (7:6). Ezra called on the people to fast in seek-ing God’s protection and guidance (Ezra 8:21). Fasting and prayer often are linked, as when Nehemiah prayed and fasted before making his request to Artaxerxes to return to Jerusa-lem (Neh. 1:4). Following the Babylonian exile, Israelites ap-parently developed four fasts related to their remembrance of God’s punishment for their sins (Zech. 8:19).

Jesus fasted for 40 days in preparation for His public min-istry (Matt. 4:1-4). Jesus and His disciples apparently did not pursue regular fasting, in contrast to the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees (9:14-17). Jesus explained in that passage that the time would come, however, when His disciples would fast after He was taken from them.

Zealous Pharisees chose to fast by abstaining from food, but not drink, every Monday and Thursday. The Pharisees gloried in their weekly fasts that exceeded the practices of ordinary Jews. Jesus exposed abuses related to fasting in the same way He criticized the public displays of giving to the poor and prayer. Those who fasted hypocritically sought the approval of people by making sure that others knew they were fasting. Jesus said they deliberately ap-peared sad-faced and unattractive. Jesus may have been referring to their disheveled appearance or to their use of ashes smeared on their faces. The disfigurement of their

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appearance was intended to let others know they were “suf-fering for the Lord.” Their fasts were not for God, but were blatant attempts to illicit sympathy and praise from others. Apparently, many people treated these Pharisees as sincere worshipers and honored them for their false piety. Jesus de-clared that God knew their true intentions and warned they would receive no reward from Him.

Jesus instructed His disciples on the proper way for sin-cere believers to conduct a fast. He told them to put oil on their heads. Anointing the head with oil symbolized per-sonal care and was associated with celebration and joy (Ps. 23:5; Eccl. 9:8; Luke 7:46). Washing the face was a standard practice before going out in public and the opposite of the Pharisaic practice of disfiguring the face. The purpose of Jesus’ command to appear normal while fasting was to con-ceal the fast from others. Those who successfully concealed their times of fasting from others avoided the possibility of fasting for human praise. When we fast for the glory of God, Jesus promised the Father would reward us.

The New Testament provides several examples of fast-ing in the early church. Paul fasted from food and drink for three days following his Damascus Road meeting with Jesus (Acts 9:9). The early church fasted and prayed before choos-ing the first missionaries at Antioch (13:2-3) and before the appointment of elders in newly founded churches (14:23).

Fasting continued to be a topic of interest for Christian writers after the first century A.D. The earliest instruction manual for some churches was called The Didache or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. It was written around A.D. 100 and may have missed the point of Jesus’ teaching when urging Christians to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays instead of like the hypocrites on Mondays and Thursdays (Did. 8.1)! Fasting, however, did become a practice mentioned by early

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church fathers to strengthen believers against temptation, to prepare for worship, and before baptism.

For many Christians today, fasting is the least understood and practiced spiritual discipline. Spiritual fasts are not in-tended for the purposes of dieting and are not focused on the well-being of the body. Fasting is a spiritual exercise in-tended to help believers focus on God and His will for their lives. Fasting is appropriate for the same reasons found in biblical history. Fasting and prayer should be pursued in times of grief, repentance, intercession, and in a quest to know God’s will. Fasting should always be a personal de-cision and not mandated by others. Individuals with medi-cal conditions that could be adversely affected by fasting should not attempt fasting without consulting their doctor.

What are some lasting truths in Matthew 6:16-18?1. Spiritual fasts are appropriate when done for the glory

of God.2. We are not to fast for the recognition, approval, or ap-

plause of other people.3. We are not to draw attention to ourselves when fasting.4. God rewards those who fast in their desire to seek Him

and worship Him.

LIVE IT OUT

What are some of the methods you use to anonymously give to people in need? _____________________________ _________________________________________________How much time do you spend each day in private prayer? _________________________________________________In what situations of life should you combine fasting with prayer? ______________________________________ _________________________________________________

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