Day 36 | Matthew 6:25-34 | Don’t Worry…Be Fruitful…

Passage: Matthew 6:25-34 (NKJV)

Mat 6:25  ”That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?

Mat 6:26  Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are?

Mat 6:27  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

Mat 6:28  ”And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing,

Mat 6:29  yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

Mat 6:30  And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

Mat 6:31  ”So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’

Mat 6:32  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.

Mat 6:33  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.

Mat 6:34  ”So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. [NLT]

Thoughts:

This teaching definitely did not fall on deaf ears in Jesus time. They were an agricultural society, wholly dependent on crops and livestock  survival for the sustaining of their own lives. Most people were very concerned with their day-to-day survival. Jesus is clarifying a debated truth here. Many Rabbi’s were teaching that God cared only for man and not so much for nature. Jesus is saying that God takes care of nature, how much more will he care for man.

Some ancient philosophers taught about or drew morals from nature as well as from philosophy. Many Jewish teachers said that God’s concern in the laws of the Bible was only for humans (although it was clear that God watched over all creation; cf. Psa_104:27). But Jesus’ argument was a standard Jewish “how much more” (qal vahomer) argument: If God cares for the birds (and *rabbis agreed that he sustained all creation), how much more does he care for humans? IVP Bible Background Commentary

I think that where this teaching may have been taken to a new level is in verse 33. Here He introduces the pursuit of the Kingdom of God and the aspect of faith in God and His willingness to provide for our needs. Here is our part. Here is our test of faith.

Do you trust, believe in and have faith strong enough to stop controlling every situation for yourself? Can you let go of control of your life and trust God with it? In my opinion these are the deeper questions being asked and answered by Jesus in this passage.

When I ask myself these questions I more often than not fail this simple test. On a daily basis I spend more time worrying about my income, my bills, my possessions than I do my relationship with Jesus. Maybe calling it a test is even the wrong way to put it…it is more a directive for a worry free life. It is a directive for peace.

This is also a directive for faith.

Last night I spent a wonderful evening with my family. We had great conversation and spent time roasting hot-dogs over a campfire. The subject of helping someone in need came up. We discussed how hard it can be to step out of your comfort zone and approach someone in need. There is the matter of all the things that go through our mind…you might call them self-defensive- thoughts. Thoughts like…

That guys a drunk. There’s no help for him; I would just be wasting my time.

He could be mentally unstable, who knows what he might do to me.

If he really cared about himself he would go out and get a job.

They want to be homeless, it is a lifestyle choice. They won’t really want my help.

If I give them money they are just going to go and waste it on drugs.

Now, the reason I called these “self-defensive-thoughts” is because they involve handling the situation in such a way that you are taking care of “self”. These thoughts do not display a trust in Jesus to provide direction for you in this situation. You are attempting to control the outcome. You are worrying about your self. Jesus is telling us in this passage that we don’t have to worry about ourselves (sustaining of our lives) if we have faith in God to provide for us.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not a call to “test the Lord” by jumping into clearly dangerous situations and presuming He will protect/provide for you. No! That too is wrong. Look at verse 33 in the passage. Jesus is saying “seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” ….this is Him saying to us…Don’t go running willy-nilly in to do the work of the Lord with YOUR WILL being the driving force. Seek God’s will. Seek His directive in the situation, and then act upon His will. This takes time and work. We must learn, through the study of His Word and through quiet prayer time, to recognize the Father’s voice. Then we can go out with confidence; with boldness; with peace (no worries); and be fruitful, helping those in need.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to hear your voice. Help me to stop trusting in myself so much and to trust in You more. You have promised to take care of us and, like Abraham who believed your promise so You counted it to him as righteousness, I want to fully believe in You and let it change my life.

Thank You for all that you supply in my life. I thank You for my daily sustenance and for the roof over my head. I thank You for my family and friends and for the freedom to worship You on Your Sabbath day.

Lord, please give me boldness of heart when I need it so that I can be about Your business. I love you Lord. Amen.

Day 35 | Matthew 6:24 | Practice makes perfect

Passage: Matthew 6:24 [NKJV]

Thoughts:

Mat 6:24  ”No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Also as a reference let’s look at this bit of background from the IVP Bible Background Commentary.

Two masters rarely shared slaves, but when they did it always led to divided interests. “Mammon” is an *Aramaic word for possessions or money, and Jesus seems to be personifying it as an idol, using another ancient figure of speech (personification).

To me this is a pretty basic teaching, yet it carries so much weight, power, and significance in my life. If I were to interpret into my own words what Jesus is saying to me, He would be saying, “You must stop serving the world through your partaking in the things of this world; leisure, selfish pursuits, covetousness, and self pride. Instead, choose to serve Me and I can then change you into my image.”

We become what we give our lives to. This is not a demand from Christ to “pick me or die”…it is a teaching of a basic simple truth. What you spend your time doing you become. Here is a little experiment to prove the point.

1. Take out a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.
2. Write the numbers 1-20 in a line down the left side of the paper.
3. Now put the pen or pencil in your opposite hand and write 1-20 next to the previous list.
4. Make a mental note of which looks better.

Now, if you did the exercise you will have most likely noted that the list of numbers written with your dominant hand looks much neater than the list of numbers written by your least dominant hand. Consider this. What do you think would happen if every day you spent 30 minutes writing that list of numbers with your least dominant hand? Do you think that you would get better at it? Do you think that you would become proficient, over time, with using that hand to write that list of numbers clearly?

What about a professional skateboarder. Do you think they just woke up one morning and said, “I am now really good at skateboarding”? No, of course not. They spent hours and hours practicing to become good at skating. They became a “slave” to that task, and in the end it paid off.

The same is true when it comes to having a relationship with Jesus. We cannot serve two masters…because by trying to we will never become good at either one.

This literally works for the worldly person too. If you spend time in the world, but as a “nominal” Christian the world will notice it and will have disdain for you. They (the world) can sense a Christian who is being a hypocrite…in fact I’d say they are hyper sensitive to it. I’ve seen blogs written by overtly Atheist writers that challenge Christians on their beliefs by using the Bible to prove they (the Christian) are wrong…and the Atheist was right.

Jesus wants us to be slaves to Him completely. It is only through this type of commitment that He can start to work the changes in us that will help us. It is not a matter of salvation, the thief on the cross is proof enough of that, but it is a matter of building a relationship with and growing in Christ. Give your heart to Him completely…hold back nothing and see what amazing things He can do with your life.

Prayer:

Dear Lord,

It is difficult and a struggle to give myself over to you daily. Sometimes the “old man” fights so hard …sometime he even wins. But today, right here and now, I give you my whole heart. I want You to use me today to glorify You. Help my words, thoughts and actions to do that very thing. Help me to grow in You, and with You leading me. I want to practice daily my relationship with you so that I can become more like you…please change my heart in that direction.

Thank You for all that You supply in my life. Thank You for my family, friends, and church. Thank You for Your sacrifice for me and for Your forgiveness. Help me to forgive others.

Please be with the prayer requests on the prayer list. May Your will be done in all things. Amen.