The piety of a follower of Jesus
by Pastor Glenn Crouch
Click here to download your printable verse to carry with you today.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen (Matthew 6:6a).
Read Matthew 6:1–6,16–18
We continue our week of looking at what is involved in being a follower of Jesus. Today, we look at the area of piety. This may not be a term we are comfortable with using these days, but by it, we mean our personal devotion to God.
The first thing we notice – and this may come as a surprise – is that Jesus talks about our giving to those in need. This is a part of our personal devotion to God and not something we do so that others can see how generous we are. We give to those in need because our Heavenly Father gave his only Son for us. We are to be generous with all that God has given us, and we need to be discreet about our giving.
Do you put aside time to pray? Should it be the same time each day? What about using a prayer journal? What about an app for your phone that looks after this? How does fasting fit in? All wonderful questions – please talk to your pastor or a Christian mentor about these things, as your prayer life is important. We will talk more about prayer tomorrow, but in today’s passage, Jesus tells you that when you pray and/or fast, it is something between your Heavenly Father and you. Some things are not for public consumption.
You may be surprised that Jesus didn’t include daily reading of Scripture – something many of us have as part of our devotional time. We often forget that we live in a truly blessed time when we can easily access the Scriptures in print and electronically. As followers of Jesus, we need to spend time learning more about him through our Bibles and good devotional tools. This very resource is one of those tools.
Gracious Father, help me to do better when it comes to giving to the needy, spending time with you in prayer, and reading your word. I know I need to spend more time with you – help me. Forgive me when I fail, and encourage me to continue these useful habits. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Glenn is the pastor of St John’s Lutheran Church in Esperance and looks after St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Kalgoorlie–Boulder, Western Australia. Glenn and Karen have been married since 1985. They have two grown sons and are enjoying regular video chats with their first grandchild.
- Click here to read previous devotions.
- We are also posting them on LCA Facebook, making it easy for you to share them with family and friends.
- Sign up to receive Daily Devotion in your inbox every morning. If you’re already doing that, please encourage others to sign up. Click here for the link.
