Matthew 6:25

Therefore I say to you, take no thought for your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor for your body, what you will wear ~ Matthew 6:25

How strange for Jesus to say this to us! How many of us are able to really obey this command? For the truth is, the world is in our heart. We cannot escape thinking about the world, and most of us are mastered by this world in our natural instincts. So, what did Jesus mean by these words then, if our instincts, our nature, lead us to think and be oft times consumed by a world which grasps at our greed and selfishness? First, Jesus does not tell us to not do anything for ourselves. We must eat, be clothed, and drink water or our bodies will fail us. These we are to do to care for ourselves. What we are not to do is to have confidence in the self for these objects of life – we must plant, and sow, and reap, but we are not the one’s who make it grow. It is a gift from God who gives us the corn or the wheat, or the clothing. He also wants us to know that living is more than life, and clothes are more than raiment. So, here is our lesson: do your work, but do it in confidence of a great God who sustains you; do your duty in life, but without the anxiety which breaks you. In His goodness and love, He will provide all you need. Let the ideals of Jesus – justice, goodness, kindness, purity, be what you strive for. Leave behind scheming competition and money-making plans, for God will provide for all your needs. Jesus knows we need bread, but He is the bread of life! Devotion by Pastor Julia


Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t
Read more

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the
Read more