one step: Matthew 6.11

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In this passage, Jesus doesn’t define treasure in any particular way, but He surely means that which someone prizes most and above all else. The things that we value above all else tell us something about ourselves; the things we treasure reveal what we value most deep down.*

We will sacrifice anything to keep the thing that we value the most. Do you value your job more than anything else? What are you sacrificing for your job? Do you value your comfort the most? What are you sacrificing for your comfort? Do you value your safety the most? What are you sacrificing for safety?

None of these things are bad, and all have some value, but the thing we value most must be God. Jesus does not invite us into partial following, or part-time apprenticeship to Him. We must treasure Him above it all!

When we value Him above all else in the deepest part of our being, it says something about us.

I spent much of my life valuing more than anything else the call of God on my life and what I believed it could bring me in the way of recognition, acceptance, and value. Because I valued the call on my life above all else, I sacrificed everything for it. The problem with this is that my call had no life. My call was like a mission that enslaved me. It had no being. It had nothing to say. I just kept sacrificing and sacrificing for my silent taskmaster, but ended up empty.

Jesus is a being. To sacrifice all to Him is to listen to His voice and to obey what He tells you to lay down. His voice is caring. His call for sacrifice is intentional. His ways are for us and others.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to remove the value you’ve placed on something that supersedes Him in your heart. Perhaps God wants you to repent today for setting something else on the altar of your heart. Maybe today God wants to show you what He can do when He is in charge of your life. Perhaps God is asking you to sacrifice something or to make Him your treasure.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 151-156, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 6:19-24) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 6.10

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

We see here another command of Jesus to practice a spiritual discipline in secret. Dallas Willard in The Spirit of the Disciplines suggests that doing acts of service for others in secrecy is a spiritual discipline. Fasting qualifies as a spiritual discipline, so doing so in secret… does that make it a double-discipline?

The benefit of acts done in secret is that it removes the benefit of the gratitude of people. To give a generous gift without signing it allows for this act to be done to the glory of God without leaving room for the opportunity for the praise of man.

Similarly, fasting in secret removes the opportunity to find motivation in the respect and renown of people.

In our culture of posting and sharing to social media, it’s easy to not pause long enough to ask, “what’s my motivation?”

When doing something for a spouse or a loved one, do we point it out that we did it? Do we do this to feel good or to receive gratitude?

Doing things in secret for the Lord helps to keep our soul out of the way. It doesn’t give opportunity for poor motivations to pollute and minimize the gift to the Lord. What good is that to us?

Doing acts including fasting in secret allows the Lord to reward us as it is purely given toward Him.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to hold the gratitude and approval of people at a lower level than the gratitude and approval of God. Perhaps God wants you to shift things that you have been doing to be seen to a secret place to be seen by Him alone. Maybe today God is asking you to fast from something. Don’t tell a soul. Do it unto Him.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 150-151, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 6:16-18) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 6.9

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The simple reading of this text out of the context of the sermon of the mount and the greater story of the Gospel makes room for those who desire to make a walk with Jesus one of performance and earning. An out-of-context reading of this scripture allows for the false narrative of the vindictive responsiveness of God toward sin to live on.

Within the context of the sermon on the mount and the story of the Gospel, we see a reality that speaks to our position as believers.

First, it reminds us that though we desire the Kingdom of God here on earth, we share the earth with imperfect beings that offend and hurt us. These humans require forgiveness for relationship to continue. Relationship between God and man is made secure through the forgiveness offered by Jesus. This work, once received is permanent. But what about the relationship between humans?

Forgiveness must live here too.

Second, when we do not forgive another for an offense, something unpredictable and surprising happens: we allow a wedge between us and them which also allows a wedge between us and God. It’s impossible for us to hold our fellow man in contempt without it impacting our relationship with God.

Some scholars believe that the reason for this dynamic is that a person who refuses to forgive another demonstrates that they have never experienced the forgiveness of God for themselves. This thought stems from the belief that someone who has received a revelation of the forgiveness of God cannot help but extend it to others. In this case, rather than a reaction of God to our lack of forgiveness of others, the lack of forgiveness of others is simply evidence our of a lack of reaction to His forgiveness.*

Other scholars believe that when you withhold forgiveness from your fellow man, you place yourself on the judgement seat of God, thus displacing the Lord God on the throne of judgement in an act of idolatrous usurpation of rule. This act removes the Grace-giver from the throne. Removing Him from the throne of judgment may appear to remove the opportunity for forgiveness from them, temporarily satisfying a desire for judgement and revenge. In reality, it removes your opportunity for forgiveness as you have pushed aside the Grace-giver.*

Whichever view you hold, and maybe the reality of this dynamic depends upon individual situations, its a reminder of what the pronouns “our” and “we” communicate throughout the Lord’s prayer: we are in this together. We are the body of Christ, and we should extend the same forgiveness to one another that Christ extended us.

In the context of the goals of Jesus in this passage, we must remember that Jesus is calling us to a higher place of heart-examination, not establishing more rules. It’s not enough to forgive those who need no forgiveness. Where is our heart when we need to forgive those who hurt us in a way that matters to us?

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to forgive someone else. Perhaps you need to ask God to forgive you for acting as judge in someone else’s life. Maybe you have been judging yourself and refusing to forgive yourself of something that He already has. Maybe God wants you to take a step toward the healing necessary to forgive and a step toward the forgiveness that heals.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 149, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 6:9-13) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 6.8

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

What would school be like without tests? Would there be an urgency to learn? Would there be a way of knowing if we had learned? Tests reveal to us as much as to the teacher if we have learned the material that we are being tested on. Tests provide a sense of accountability and urgency from knowing that the test will come and reveal what is hidden (our knowledge hides in our brain until we express it in some way).

A life without testing might look like a school without testing. Motivation would be difficult to muster, and knowledge would be impossible to measure.

Tests are standardized to provide equal opportunity for success and to create a standard to which all students are expected to reach. Life is a little different.

It seems that in life each test is individually tailored by the Teacher to stretch each of us beyond our reach. These tests are intended to reveal to us what is hidden in our hearts for the purpose of learning and growing in such a way that we must lean on Him.

To desire a life without tests would take away opportunities for learning and would diminish our motivations in so many ways. We would risk losing the understanding of our dependence upon Him. The life of Jesus was a life of testing as was the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt. Life includes tests.

The heart of God is that our testing would reveal to us His goodness, our need for Him, and places where He wants to grow us.

The enemy has something else in mind. The enemy wants to bring testing for the purpose of destruction. Like a teacher who intentionally makes a test that all will fail, he uses tricky phrasing and distracting language to bring us to failure and destruction.

According to scholars, the plea “lead us not into temptation” is not a cry to the Lord to never be tested; it’s a plea to stay the course and to not end up in the place of failure and destruction. God led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested (Luke 4). That testing included fasting for a very long time, prayer, solitude, and temptation. The testing of Jesus included the evil one’s intent to destroy Him, but that wasn’t God’s intent.

Tests will come, but Lord, deliver us from evil. Let not our testing end in destruction.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to embrace testing, knowing that you can get a good grade with His help because He is rooting for you. Perhaps God wants you to run hard and fast from the enemy’s temptation that you have been flirting with. That temptation is for your destruction. Use the Word of God to fight it and walk away. Maybe God wants you to see that He does not want you to fail. He’s the good teacher.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 148-149, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 6:9-13) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).

one step: Matthew 6.7

…and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

How many of us love others as Christ has loved us? How many of us extend joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control as it has been measured to us by the Holy Spirit?

I can say for sure that the love that I have shown to others has often been a broken and some times dim reflection of the love that Christ shows me. Question: does my imperfection limit God’s love toward me? Absolutely not.

Scholars believe that this phrase in the Lord’s Prayer does not serve as a limiting factor to the forgiveness of God.* Our broken ability to pass on the forgiveness of God to others does not limit His ability to forgive ours. Scholars believe that this prayer is a goal more than a limitation of His ability.*

This prayer reminds us that we have no right to seek forgiveness for ourselves if we refuse to extend it to others. In fact, our broken ability to reflect forgiveness to others implies that we never have the right to seek forgiveness for ourselves if not for the grace of Jesus Christ to extend it.

This thought is humbling. How good is our King?!

Not only does this prayer remind us of our desperate need for forgiveness, and the need to extend it to others, but it reminds us that those around us who need our forgiveness are people too.

Notice that the verse mentions our debts forgiven and our forgiving debtors. There’s no such thing as “this is just business; it’s nothing personal.” We don’t forgive debts just because our debts were forgiven. We are called to forgive the person. It’s very personal.

It reminds us that the forgiveness extended to us by Jesus was also very personal. He cares about you. He cares about me. He asks that we care about others in a similar way.

Today, take a step.

Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to release someone in your life who has wronged you. Perhaps He wants you to release yourself. Maybe God would have you ask for forgiveness for things that you have done that have hurt His heart. Perhaps your heart has been hurt because He didn’t meet your expectation, and you need to release God of that expectation.

Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.

Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.

sign up just below for a daily reminder of the one step devotional. click here to return to devotional list.

*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 147-148, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 6:9-13) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).