Today we read Matthew 7. What we call The Golden Rule (“do to others what you would want them to do to you”) comes from the words of Jesus in verse 12. It is another way of saying, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 12:39). And yet, simply doing good things for others is not the way to get to heaven. For that, you must believe in Jesus Christ. That is what “building your house on the rock” means (Matthew 7:24).

Today we read Matthew 6. In this chapter, Jesus gives us what we call the Lord’s Prayer (verses 9-13). It is the perfect prayer (because it is by Jesus Himself!) and all Christians should know it by heart. May you be blessed by learning it and using it every day, perhaps when you get up and then again when you go to sleep. And maybe even in between, as you desire God’s comfort.

Today we read Matthew 5. The so-called Beatitudes (“blessed are…, blessed are”) are very famous. But what if you think: “How can I be blessed? Because I am sometimes *not* merciful or pure in heart or a peacemaker? Sometimes I seem to do the opposite of what it says here (and I hate it when I am like that…)!?” The answer is that *Jesus* is all those things. *He* is poor in spirit, He is meek, He is pure in heart… And because He has given you His Holy Spirit ,who enables you to believe in Jesus Christ, you *are* blessed!

Today we read Matthew 4. Note that Jesus uses words from the Bible to fight back against Satan’s temptations. We Christians should memorize parts of Scripture, since the Bible is the actual Word of God. Satan knows this and is afraid of it. A good verse to memorize today would be Matthew 4:4: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”