The reward you need

Morning: Psalms 56, 57; Leviticus 16:1-19; I Thessalonians 4:13-18

Evening: Psalms 64, 65; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus teaches: “Whenever you fast ... or give alms ... or pray ... your father who sees in secret will reward you.”  With Jesus, it’s not “if” you do these things. He assumes you will follow these spiritual practices. But you must do them in secret. You don’t do them in order to get a predetermined reward, like good fortune, wisdom, long life, or respect. It is fair to expect some benefit from spiritual discipline. But you probably will not know beforehand what the benefit will be. You only need to know your reward will be the one you need.