Do Not Worry
22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Matthew 6:22-34
I used to have a much greater problem accepting these truths before. I still struggle with my worldly desires, the many things that I had grown up to value growing up as a child and as an adult, materially, socially and spiritually. A key influence in the change of perspective between not being surrendered to Christ and being surrendered causes the things I value to become transcendent and eternal based on the truths in the Bible, and marks a growing desire to be obedient to the will of so gracious a God.
One of the truths and themes that occur throughout the Bible that I am becoming accustomed to is how “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) that means good things AND bad things. In a practical sense, we receive blessings in all situations, God provides. On the other side, when life seems unbearable and appear to be falling apart, God will provide the necessary inner strength to help you walk through those shadows of the Valley of Death (Psalm 23).
In any case, I am encouraged to give glory to God in good times and bad, because as Paul wrote in Philippians 4:12 “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” There are many of those times when your earthly needs are sorely in need, you’re hungry, sometimes starving physically, emotionally, or spiritually and then God offers relief to sustain you. God’s ways often defy both our understanding and circumstances. In this way, God is trustworthy, though we suffer at times and cry out to Him.
Jesus is Lord and Savior. I think most people have some idea what it means to have a Savior, but not so much what it means to serve the Lord. Personal changes become apparent in a believer when one begins to understand what “Lord” really means.
A resistance to embracing Jesus as Lord often becomes what we refuse to give up, things we have grown to believe are true or essential though they actually interfere with being obedient to God. We, aided by the world’s allure, create bastions of unregenerate attitudes and behaviors, taking satisfaction in our self-pride and relative (self-defined) morality.
God’s truth and expressed through the Bible destroys self-righteousness and our utterly disastrous propensity for idolatry. The unregenerate, of which we all begin as, personally raise just about anything to the level above their diminutive concept of who God is.
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ – Matthew 7:21-23
Most people, including in the people who attend a Christian church, are unaware of understanding the magnitude of their sins against a Holy and Righteous God. Our self-righteousness is deeply ingrained in our worldly views, we are blinded to His presence and power. It’s as though we take credit for the work that is not our own. We give credit to other entities when it is God’s power and common grace which underlies it all.
The inverse is being able to see how God is the Provider.
I’ve known people, who have had their life taken down to its bare minimum and at that point, or points, near death, either mentally, spiritually or physically. The processes of such decline can be insidious over a life time or they can occur like lightning. While only God’s knows what mercy He has provided these souls, some have taken their life in suicide, others have survived, and most have not seen God’s as either their deliverer or the One who could deliver them and often has delivered them, time and time again.
You won’t recognize any of this unless you are repentant. Repentant from what, or how, or why?
The Bible is God’s instructions for how to live a life that is pleasing to God. The sins we commit are not only against others, but first and foremost, against Holy God, the One who created you, the One who gave you a free will, the one who loves you if you seek to hear and listen to His voice.
“Why please God or which god?” you may ask.
The God who has given and revealed the moral Law as established in the Ten Commandments and the One who offers reconciliation through the substitutionary death of His Son on the Cross for your sake. That One.
Once you can get a handle on that, then the spiritual process of understanding the aformentioned passages will begin to provide a deeper meaning of God’s Truth in this world and the purpose and meaning of your life.
Jesus Christ, came into the world to reveal with truth and clarity, authority and power, to give us the clearest picture available of who God is and what His purposes are. He showed us God’s grace, coming into as the Messiah to save sinners and not to condemn. Without Jesus, there would be no Christian Church (The Body of Christ). Having written that, Jesus offers a stern warning, and God does not lie.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. – Matthew 7:13-14
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For a detailed explanation of who Jesus Christ is from the Bible’s perspective go to the video in this website , “Who is Jesus Christ?”
For a review of the Ten Commandments: https://www.challenyee.com/the-ten-commandments/
CKY
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