Author: tracy

 

Rev 4, 5

We have made enough trips through the Bible in this Bible Journal journey to know how often the scriptures tell us to praise God. From Moses, the prophets and judges, David in the Psalms to many of the New Testament writers we are commanded over and over to praise God and worship Him. While the main purpose of the Bible is to tell the story of God’s love for His creation and His sacrifice to pay for the consequences of human sin so that people can have a relationship with God, it also let’s us know that the proper response to God for this gift is for us to praise Him. What else can we offer in thanks for this ultimate gift? We get overwhelmed with expensive gifts from other people and get frustrated with the inability to “repay” or give a worthy response gift to express our gratefulness for another’s thoughtfulness. Now compare that earthly frustration with the Creator of the universe, the King of kings offering His life to pay for mine. What kind of “thank you” seems appropriate for this? The truth is we cannot come close to the value of His life if we could give everything we have. We can’t come close.

Have you ever had the experience of gifting a child or a close friend a lavish gift? What do you hope for after they accept the gift? In your heart are you hoping to be repaid for the value of the gift? No, it would be ridiculous to expect payment from a kid. I think for most of us the most fulfilling response or “repayment” comes in seeing the other person enjoy the gift. You gift, hoping that your gift enriches the other person’s life. You hope the gift brings them joy. You might even hope that the gift helps them to see the value that they hold in your eyes. You gift because you want them to understand how much they mean to you. Is God any different? When I ponder the reasons God gave us new life, my heart is filled with gratitude. I can’t find enough words to thank Him for what He has done so I move to praising Him for who He is. I need Him to know that I recognize His love, His sacrifice and His gift. I need Him to hear from my mouth that He is the only One who could have taken my place. It’s important to me that He knows that I realize it is only because of Him that I have hope and the promise of eternity with Him.

When I’m searching for the words to express my gratitude to God, looking at the words that the angles and heaven use to praise God seems like the right place to start.

 

“Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, the one who was, who is and is still to come. You are worthy, to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased. Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the thrown and to the Lamb forever and ever!”

Heb 12-13

 

These two chapters in Hebrews seem like a condensed “how to” pamphlet on living a Christ like life. The author lists out quite a few things that will keep our faith alive and healthful if we follow them over a lifetime. Let’s take a look at some of them.

1, “Love each other as brothers and sisters.” Do you find yourself more willing to offer help to your siblings than to others in your life? If so, this is a beautiful way to orient our minds to love others. Thinking of others as “family” may soften our hearts to those around us and help us to dig a little deeper as we care for others.

2, “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers.” I think busyness can kill hospitality faster than anything. Taking time to bring others into your home for a visit, a meal, or an overnight is deeply meaningful. It builds relationship, shows honor and makes others feel valuable.

3, “Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.” The author phrases these reminders so well. If you put yourself in another person’s place and sit with their circumstances for a few minutes, it changes your perspective and helps you support and encourage people that need it.

4, “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage.” Do we honor marriage in our current culture the way we used to, say even 50 years ago?  I feel like because our culture values marriage less than we used to, marriage is easier to slide into and out of. The author is crystal clear here about how we should think about marriage if we want to live like Christ.

5, “Don’t love money, be satisfied with what you have. For God says, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” When I want something that I don’t need, my thoughts almost never include the fact that God is all I really need. If I could change the way I think about “stuff/things” to factoring the gift of God’s presence into my equation, I would have a different outcome every time!

6, “Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all of the good that has come from their lives. Also, obey your spiritual leaders. Their work is to watch over your souls and they are accountable to God.” A good reminder. Sometimes we get critical of our leaders or simply take them for granted. Remember to think of the good that has come from their lives.

7, “Offer, through Jesus, a continual sacrifice of praise to God and proclaim allegiance to His name.” “Continual” pops out to me this morning as I read through this guideline. When we follow God we all find or make specific times throughout our week for praising God. The more time I concentrate on who He is and praise Him for it, the more changed I am. What could my life be like if I could get to the place where I praised Him continually?

8, “Don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.” Simple and concise…it is clear what actions are Christ like. If you are characterized by sharing with those in need, I challenge you today to see if you can increase your sacrifice.

9, “Pray for others (and for ourselves) to live honorably in everything they/we do.” Living honorably in all I do is honestly not happening on this earth. I am human and broken and I won’t be “honorable in all” until I get to heaven, but I can pray for “honorable in more of what I do”. I also love the power of being able to pray this help into the lives of those I love.

I’ll leave you this morning with the author’s blessing from the end of chapter 13.

 

“Now may the God of peace-who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood-may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever!”

 

 

1 Thessalonians 3-5

 

Encouragement- the action of giving support, confidence, or hope; to inspire with courage or spirit, to spur on, to give help, the act of giving promise; to make someone more determined or to make something more appealing. Above is a compilation of as many definitions of encouragement I could find. Just reading through this compilation invigorates me and excites me. Encouragement is positive and hope filled. It is a good thing for anyone that receives it. Which one of us wouldn’t love a dose of encouragement today? By definition, encouragement implies action. It could be explained as energizing movement towards a personal goal, event or relationship. While we can all be inspired by a random speaker or author, I would maintain that the most effective encouragement comes out of personal relationship. When a mentor or respected friend or family member reaches out at the right time with the right words, it can have great impact. These conversations can be the perfect boost to catapult one into action.

If I am striking out in a new endeavor, support from a trusted friend means the world to me. When I am weary of responsibility, getting spurred on by someone who understands my circumstances gives me the energy to make it to the finish line. I think we all see the value of hopeful hearts pouring into our lives. It makes us feel like we are not alone and that someone else is on our team. Everyone benefits when another takes the time to speak personal encouragement into someone’s life. Sometimes encouragement looks like physical help, financial assistance or just sitting with someone when they are scared, grieving, or facing an unknown. Receiving encouragement is life giving, refreshing and motivating.

The theme of this letter from Paul, Silas and Timothy to the Thessalonian people is encouragement in their faith. Paul mentions that he and Silas sent Timothy to encourage them in their faith, to keep them from being shaken by the troubles they were facing. In chapter 4, Paul tells them to encourage each other with hope for the future in Jesus’ return. Chapter 5 tells them to encourage those who are timid, taking tender care of those who are weak and being patient with everyone. In 3:6-8 the tables turn and Paul tells the Thessalonians how greatly he was encouraged to hear that they were remaining strong in their faith. He told the Thessalonians that he, Silas and Timothy were given new life knowing that they were standing firm in the Lord.

 

Each of us will most likely encounter people today. We know that everyone is facing something that is daunting, unsettling, or just plain hard.  Can we look for a way to give support? Can we say something that brings hope, courage, or promise? Let’s listen to others and be aware of their circumstances so we can build each other up.

Todays reading is 2 Cor 11

In chapter 11 of 2 Corinthians, Paul is saddened and frustrated with the people of Corinth because they keep following false teachers who are distorting the truth. The false teachers were trying to put questions in the minds of the Corinthians of Paul’s authenticity. Paul spends this entire chapter making a case for his relationship with God and his calling to teach God’s truth to all he encounters. He is trying to prove to the Corinthians that he is the real deal and that he is teaching only God’s truth.

Paul says in verse 23 that he has served God far more than the other “teachers” in the community. He states that he has worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped and faced death all for teaching God’s truth. In verse 27 he says, “I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have gone without food and shivered in the cold all so I could reach more people with God’s word. Besides all of this, he says that he carries the daily burden of his concern for all of the churches. He asks, “Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? He goes on to say in verse 30, “If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. God the Father of our Lord Jesus, is worthy of eternal praise.” Paul knows God is the One worthy of praise and the One to be followed. He wants God’s truth to prevail, and the manmade ideas to fall away. Paul suffered greatly to continue his ministry of spreading God’s truth. Nowhere in this chapter does Paul complain or feel sorry for him self for the trails he has endured for the gospel. Instead he keeps saying that he “boasts” about his hardships almost as if they were good. Go back to the beginning of this paragraph. Do you consider hard work, prison time, beatings and facing death “boast-worthy” activities? Right, neither do I. But Paul saw the good coming from the trials he faced and he understood how God was using Paul’s circumstances to further the gospel. Paul felt like his hardships made God’s message of hope more powerful, more believable and more far reaching.

I can’t help but be challenged by Paul’s attitude. I think we are soft compared to the fortitude Paul displays in this chapter. He was willing to endure anything to further the gospel. We face don’t face the hardships that he did during his ministry, yet some times we cave, sit quiet or complain about uncomfortable situations we face when we have opportunities to further the gospel. While we are still free to share God’s story in this country I see signs that it may be changing in the future. I hope we are growing in strength and fortitude to be able to speak truth when it gets harder.

Last week a friend of mine faced one of the biggest trials she will probably ever face in her lifetime. This trial was physical not brought on as consequences for sharing her faith, but I saw some parallels in her situation and 2 Cor 11 and God spoke some truths into my own heart because of watching her journey last week.  God showed me that I am not grateful enough for all of the good in my life. I went for a walk outside the day that my friend started her trail and I got tears in my eyes while walking as I realized that my friend would have given anything in that moment to be outside taking a walk. Until my friend’s circumstances changed, I thought nothing of heading out for some fresh air and exercise. I am not grateful enough each day that I can complete the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other. God made it really clear to me that I take too much for granted and expect to be able to execute my to “do list” each day. When the ability to continue to function as expected changes for someone we love, it becomes a wake up call for us to appreciate the gifts we receive from God every day. Paul recognized his circumstances as a gift even when they were what we would consider to be pretty terrible circumstances. How much more grateful should we be each day for the good gifts God has given us?

1Cor 2-4

 

I enjoy cooking! I like to try to recreate a dish or a flavor I’ve enjoyed in a restaurant, at a friend’s house or seen prepared on line. There have been dishes that I so badly wanted to recreate that I have made them 8-10 times to match the flavors living in my memory. I’m thinking of my sister in law’s spaghetti and meatballs. The recipe is simple, made with all fresh real ingredients. After following her recipe several times, I still couldn’t get mine to turn out like hers. I couldn’t figure out how I could screw it up so badly while using the same simple, real foods that she used. So I continued trying, tweaking my methods a little bit or a lot each time I made it.  Eventually I got it right! Success!

Paul talks in 1 Cor 2-4 about his, Apollos’, and Timothy’s teachings and preaching the gospel in Corinth. See the people in the church in Corinth had some problems. They were questioning Paul’s right to be an apostle, taking each other to court, overlooking immorality, and fighting with each other over who’s teachings were more “right” instead of standing firmly together against their city’s immoral culture. Paul wrote this letter to the church to encourage them to go back to the beginning of their faith. He reminds them in chapter 2 that when he was first with them, he decided to forget everything but Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. “My message was very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied on the Holy Spirit.

I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.”

Paul knew that the people in the church were getting sidetracked from the simple, pure message of Jesus. The Corinthians were fighting with each other stating, “I am a follower of Paul”, or “I am a follower of Apollos”. So Paul restated his case in chapters 3 and 4. “Don’t boast about following a particular human leader. Look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries.” Paul knew that Jesus was the One to be followed. He also saw that the church was confused and being pulled away from the simple truth of the gospel because they were making other things more important than Jesus in their faith. Their “ingredients” were wrong so the “recipe” for their faith was not turning out right. The Corinthians were getting bogged down by concentrating on the wrong things. They were arguing about issues that were not central to their faith and it was dividing them and causing them to lose their way.

Do you see similarities in the people of Corinth’s issues to our issues today? I do. It is easy within the church to get wrapped up in trendy books, political discussions, and popular teachers. While there is good in each of these, we cannot let them become the mainstay of our faith. Our faith is based on the gospel of Jesus Christ who gave his life as payment for our sin so that we could be made clean before God if we accept His gift. We can only have relationship with God because of Jesus’ power over death as He rose from the grave and sits at God’s right hand. This is what we all share as the foundation of our faith. This truth binds us as family with God as our Father. When we stray too far from Jesus’ gift and start to give too much weight to other ideas, we end up with the wrong “recipe” just like the church in Corinth did. As God’s family we are more effective in winning others to Him as a united front trusting in Him rather than when we are trusting in human wisdom. Let’s spend some time today thanking Jesus for paying for our sin and for His power over death. Can we pass every other theology, thought, and discussion through the simple truth of Jesus’ gift to us?

Acts 26

 

I find Paul’s defense for his actions in this chapter so compelling. He is brought before King Agrippa because of accusations made by the Jewish leaders. Paul was preaching about Jesus, which made the Jewish officials furious because they thought he was preaching against the law of Moses, the Jewish faith. The sad part is that the Pharisees and Paul believed in the same God and shared the same faith. How could they be so opposed, and the Pharisees so angry that they wanted Paul to fry?

Paul grew up in a devoted Jewish family. He was highly trained in the Jewish faith. He studied so many years, and in such great depth that he became a leader in the faith, he was a Pharisee himself. The difference between Paul’s faith and the Pharisee’s faith in Acts 26 is that Paul met Jesus. We say it in this blog all of the time, but Jesus changes everything!  Paul’s story in Acts 26 is a perfect example. Paul was doing everything he could to oppose the very name of Jesus as the rest of the Pharisees did also. He sent Christians to prison and condemned them to death for their faith in Jesus. Until he met Jesus himself, Paul did everything he could to follow the Jewish law.

Paul was on a trip for official business when a light from heaven shone down on him and he heard a voice speaking to him. Jesus asked Paul why he was persecuting Him. Paul asked who was speaking to him and Jesus replied that He was the One that Paul was persecuting. Jesus told him, “ I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and my witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future. And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. I am sending you to open their eyes, so they may turn from the darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in Me.” This interaction with Jesus changed Paul. He made a one hundred-eighty degree turn. Instead of persecuting Christians, he began teaching about Jesus and helping people to become followers of Jesus. This abrupt change after Paul met Jesus is what I find so compelling. This one hundred-eighty degree turn had to have been what grabbed people’s attention. When a known persecutor starts teaching how to be come what he persecuted yesterday, people want to know why!

Paul goes on to explain to King Agrippa that after his change in teaching, some Jews arrested him and tried to kill him. Paul tells Agrippa that, “God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest.  I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen-that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”

The difference between Paul’s faith and the Pharisee’s faith was Jesus. After meeting Jesus, Paul understood that Jesus was the fulfillment of Jewish prophesy. The conversation with Jesus on that road to Damascus opened Paul’s eyes so he could see that Jesus was God and not someone to fear or feel threatened by. The Pharisees were stuck clinging tightly to what they had been taught instead of being willing to consider who Jesus really was.

After hearing Paul’s defense, Agrippa asks Paul, “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?” Paul responded, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.” I pray that everyone reading this post today might become like Paul, changed by Jesus.

Acts 10

Acts 10 speaks with great detail about God’s clear message delivered to multiple people that Jesus’ sacrifice was a gift to all people. God wants to be certain that people of every race and religious background hear of his great gift. God makes it very clear in this chapter that He shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. Jesus is Lord of all and He sees no differences between any people groups. In Acts 10:42 Peter tells us that “Jesus ordered us (the disciples) to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all-the living and the dead. He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

Since we don’t really face the same cultural stigmas today between Jews and Gentiles as the people living during the time when this chapter was written, I think we need to ask ourselves how this teaching applies to us and why it is included in God’s word. He clearly wanted us to get this message…why? God knows our hearts. He made us with human nature and He knows how we think. My guess is He knew that people throughout time would struggle with judging each other. When we make assumptions about others by how things appear and then adjust our actions accordingly, we are forgetting that Jesus is for everyone. When we shy away from pursuing conversations because of fear, we are ignoring that God shows no favoritism. Do you relate?

 

Matthew 7:1 (paraphrased by Sarah Young) says, “Come to me and rest. Give your mind a break from its habitual judging. You form judgments about this situation, and that situation, this person, and that person, yourself, even the weather-as if judging were your main function in life. But I created you first and foremost to know Me and to live in rich communication with Me. When you become preoccupied with passing judgment, you usurp My role.”

 

I am confident that if we live in rich communication with Him we will struggle less with judging others or trying to gage their openness to God, and we will lovingly move to sharing Jesus with who ever God places in our path. When we spend time getting to know more of God’s heart, we start to see others the way He sees them. It is not for us to decide how God’s message will be received. Our reputations do not factor in to God’s command to share His message with everyone. When we see others with the lavish love that God has for all of His creation we can’t help but let them know about His offering for them. Let’s watch for the opportunities that God puts in front of us today to share His story.

 

John 15-16

I’ve spent the better part of this week reading a book written by a Christian woman named Jackie Hill Perry. Her words have been challenging me and simultaneously filling me with awe as I have taken in her story and watched how God’s word has affected her life. As I read John 15 and 16 today, I was reminded of Jackie’s obedience when she read or heard God’s word. John 15:9-10 say,

” Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”

To remain in God’s love we need to obey the commandments that we know God has given us. As we continue to read scripture and learn more of His commands, we need to obey those also. Our lives should look different as we learn more and more of God’s commands. I don’t know about you, but I find struggle in this. Some commands are easier than others for me to choose to obey, but when I am honest, I have to admit that I have stalled out on change in some areas of my life. My aim is to continue to change and obey more, but I stumble and in some areas, I get stuck in the mire of temptation to continue on in my sin. Jackie says this about temptation, “Just because we are tempted does not mean that we ARE our temptations. We are what the cross has declared us to be: forgiven. Temptations have a voice but so does the Living God. The Scriptures-God breathed and eternally profitable-have the final say on the identity of the saint.” Powerful words for sure, but the beauty of Jackie’s story is that she actually made the change. She doesn’t let temptation win and she chooses to obey God’s commands.

John 15:11 goes on to say, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” God doesn’t want us to obey Him because He wants what he wants. He wants us to obey His commands because He knows it will benefit us. He loves us and wants His best for us. He made us and knows what is best for our lives and what will bring us joy and fulfillment. Jackie’s explanation of obeying God is this, “Christianity seemed in the beginning to be a religion of just duty. I’d met to many disciples who preached more of sin than joy, whose eyes were stuck in a constant state of solemnity, clenched teeth and an endless fascination with holiness. Why hadn’t they ever mentioned the place happiness had with righteousness, or how the taking up of the cross would be a practice of obtaining delight? Delight in all that God is? Even their Savior had this kind of joy in mind as He endured the cross. So why hadn’t they set their focus on the same? In their defense, they were not to blame for my unbelief. I just wonder if they would have told me about the beauty of God just as much, if not more, than they told me about the horridness of hell, if I would have burned my idols at a faster pace. I was able to want God because the Holy Spirit was after my affections just as much as He was after my obedience. Sin had had my attention because it had my heart. In it, I did not merely put up with sin but I loved it. Delighted in it. Adored it. But this ability to love was not given to me in vain. Lest someone believe that to be sinless one should be loveless. The intention behind my ability to love at all was for it to be lavished on the loveliest One alive and in Him that love was safe. Through the Holy Spirit, not only could I see God and His glory with a smile on my face, but I could also see sin for the liar that it was.”

 

I am trusting today that this woman’s explanation challenges and encourages you to remain in God as it did for me.

 

John 1

Is the dimness of this world weighing heavily on your mind? Is the darkness of politics and injustices filling you with fear and anxiety? Do the unfairnesses you see worry you for the future? Are our circumstances surrounding the virus at this point in time seeming never ending? I had a discussion with one of my kids last weekend and they were asking me if I have ever lived through a darker time in my life than what we are currently facing. The question made me evaluate and think on some pretty heavy topics. I didn’t expect to still be thinking on the question days later so as I prepped for this post and read the first 18 verses of John 1, I unexpectedly experienced peace and calm wash over my troubled spirit.

 

“In the beginning the Word (Jesus) already existed. Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. Jesus gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

So Jesus became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.”

 

God has always existed. He knows everything from before the beginning of the world. I can’t even make sense of that statement. I can’t grasp that God was before time. Any shred of understanding I can try to apply floods me with relief from the trouble of this world. He was here, He is still here and He will be here in the future. He has seen it all and His life brought light to everyone. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” Our world cannot rid itself of God. Do you feel the comfort and relief that vs 5 speaks into our lives? It is hope! We are not abandoned or alone. He is with us. He understands our fears and anxiety. The One who is with us gives blessing after blessing from His abundance. Our world’s darkness can never extinguish His light. He prevails! I don’t know about you, but I need to be reminded of this daily!! (Especially if I watch the evening news!) I need to cling to the fact that Jesus shines in the darkness of our world. I need for my kids to know the hope that in the end Jesus prevails. This definitely does not mean that all will go smoothly for us and that our worries are over. Actually I think our world will get much darker than it currently is in the future. But Light shines in the darkness. He is our hope.

Today’s reading is Luke 12

In Luke 12, Jesus spends most of His time teaching about the use and value of money. This is not surprising when we think about the fact that every day we make decisions that require the use of money. Look at your day…watch how many times you mindlessly swipe your credit card, write a check, transfer funds for a bill payment, order amazon, pick up lunch while you are out, fill your gas tank, stop at the grocery store. The list is long for ways we spend money daily and it doesn’t even include the big stuff of life that we plan for and stew over for weeks months or years before purchasing- houses, cars, kids college, retirement, vacation, a new roof, appliances…you get the picture. My guess is that some of us feel nervous and anxious just reading through the list. There is always something in life that we are stressing over because we don’t have the money that it takes to accomplish it, we haven’t saved what we had planned to save for a given event, or an emergency took funds that were allocated for another need. We need money on a daily basis and we spend a lot of our thought time trying to figure out how to make our money stretch to meet all of our needs and some of our wants. No wonder Jesus spends so many verses talking about money and trying to help us understand how we should be thinking about it.

Vs 6-“What is the price of five sparrows-two copper coins? Yet God doesn’t forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”

Vs 15-“Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Vs 21- “A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Vs 22-“I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear.” (vs 25) “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? (vs 26) If worry can’t accomplish a little thing like today’s food or clothing, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?”

Vs 28-“If God cares so wonderfully for the flowers that are here today and thrown in the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?”

Vs 29-“Don’t worry about what you will eat or drink, your Father already knows your needs. Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.”

Vs 32-“So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the kingdom.”

Vs 33-“Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.”

Vs 34-“Whereever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

Vs 48-“When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”

 

Quite a few of these statements of Jesus are contrary to what our culture and times would advise. Some don’t even make sense on this earth. Jesus is trying again though His teachings on money to help us see that this earth is not our home. Our goal should not be to live our best and most fulfilling lives…our goal and focus needs to be on God and His framework for this “mist” of a life on earth so we can properly prepare for eternity in heaven with Him.

 

So let’s take a few more minutes to read back through Jesus’ words printed above and look at them with a heavenly lens instead of our default earthly lens.