7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 2

 

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:27–30)

Matthew 6:25–34 contains at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the fight for faith and be free from anxiety. Yesterday we saw Promises 1 and 2; today we look at 3 and 4.

Promise #3: “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:27)

This is a promise of sorts — the simple promise of reality that you can discover from experience: Being anxious will simply not do you any good. That’s a promise. This is not the main argument, but sometimes we just have to get tough with ourselves and say, “Soul, this fretting is absolutely useless. It promises nothing. You are not only messing up your own day, but a lot of other people’s as well. Renounce it. Leave it with God. And get on with your work.”

Anxiety accomplishes nothing worthwhile. That’s a promise. Believe it. Act on it.

Promise #4: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28–30)

Compared to the flowers of the field you are a much higher priority for God, because you will live forever, and can thus bring him eternal praise as his loved children.

Nevertheless, God has such an overflow of creative energy and care, he lavishes it on flowers that last only a matter of days. So, he will certainly take that same energy and creative skill and use it to care for his children who will live forever. The question is: Will we believe this promise, and put away anxiety?

7 Reasons Not to Worry, Part 1

 

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:25–26)

We are going to spend three days on this part of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:25–34, Jesus is dealing specifically with anxiety about food and clothing. But, in fact, it relates to all anxiety.

Even in America, with its extensive welfare system, anxiety over finances and housing and food and clothing can be intense. Not to mention Christians who live in situations where much greater poverty threatens life. But Jesus says in verse 30 that our anxiety comes from little faith in our Father’s promise of future grace: “O you of little faith.”

These verses (25–34) contain at least seven promises designed by Jesus to help us fight the good fight against unbelief and be free from anxiety. (Today we look at Promises 1 and 2 — then over the next two days at the rest.)

Promise #1: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25)

Since your body and your life are vastly more complex and difficult to provide than food and clothing are, and yet God has, in fact, created and provided you with both, then surely he will be able and willing to provide you with food and clothing.

Moreover, no matter what happens, God will raise your body someday and preserve your life and body for his eternal fellowship.

Promise #2: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26)

If God is willing and able to feed such insignificant creatures as birds who cannot do anything to bring their food into being — as you can by farming — then he will certainly provide what you need, because you are worth a lot more than birds. You, unlike the birds, have the amazing capacity to glorify God by trusting, obeying, and thanking God.

GOD’S UNCONQUERABLE LOVE FOR THOSE IN CHRIST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2022.

SUBJECT: GOD’S UNCONQUERABLE LOVE FOR THOSE IN CHRIST!

Memory verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3 vs 16.)

READ: Romans 8 vs 31 - 35 & 37 - 39:

8:31: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 

8:32: He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 

8:33: Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 

8:34: Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 

8:35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

8:37: Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 

8:38: For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, 

8:39: nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separated us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

INTIMATION:

In the passage we read today, the Scripture overwhelmingly reveals the 'everlasting love' for us who are in Christ; who believe in Him, and have accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior, completely accepting what He wrought for us in redemption. Christ's death for us is proof of His unconquerable love for the believers. Nothing can stop Christ's constant presence with the believer. When we know how great His love for us is, we will feel totally secure in Him. If we believe these overwhelming assurances, we will not be afraid when we are faced with any form of hardships, which naturally comes in the course of life.

Many of us are yet to realize what Christ wrought for us in the New Creation. Few of us have realized that our combat is with the eternally defeated one—Satan. He was eternally defeated when Jesus arose from the dead. Jesus couldn't have risen until Satan was defeated, and now Jesus is the Head of an unconquerable body! In Romans  8 vs 37, the apostle Paul recapitulated all the things that can assail the believer—the new created being; "Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword," and the believer has been made more than a conqueror in all these.

Sin consciousness had been the outstanding enemy of the believer, but there is no ground for it. If one knew that sin and sins were put away when he was “Born Again,” that there was no past that could ever confront him or her again, it would change the believer’s life completely. Everything that the believer has ever been and has done were put away, all the sins were remitted. The believer’s nature that has led him or her to sin has been changed. A new nature has taken its place (See Second Corinthians 5 vs 17 - 21). The “Blood of Jesus” has cleansed us. We is now utterly one with Christ, and are complete in Him.

The Bible in Colossians 2 vs 9 - 10 states, "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." The Scripture confirms Christ's deity. All of God was in Christ's human body. We need not anything in addition to what Christ has provided for us to be saved. We are complete in Him. The completeness is a result of the Father's own work through Christ, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works." (Ephesians 2 vs 10.)

It is obvious our Perfect Father couldn't create anything in His Son that wasn't perfectly well pleasing to Himself. And He confirmed this when He said, "This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3 vs 17.) We have been recreated in His Son. And the actual working out of that creation is described in Second Corinthians 5 vs 17; “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

That new creation is a new species that stands complete and perfect in the Father's presence. This new creation is as perfect as the first creation was in the Garden of Eden. The difference is that this new creation is a son, an heir of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ, and has the Nature of God in him! You can see what this means. It puts us over into the same class with Jesus—as conquerors. Hallelujah!

Prayer: Abba Father, my soul and everything that is within me are saying thank You for Your unparalleled love for me. It is my desire to return Your love. Endue me with the spirit of raw obedience to You, that I may love as Christ does, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE LOVE OF THE FATHER IN YOU!

 

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2022.

SUBJECT: THE LOVE OF THE FATHER IN YOU!

Memory verse: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (First John 2 vs 15.)

READ: John 5 vs 41 - 45:

5:41: I do not receive honor from men. 

5:42: But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.

5:43: I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.

5:44: How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor from the only God?

5:45: Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust.

INTIMATION:

The love of the Father is unfathomable; the love that gave in exchange an asset of inestimable value for something completely worthless. The love of the Father for the whole world that made Him gave His only begotten Son—Jesus Christ—as a propitiation for us, who sacrificed His life, died a shameful and painful death on the cross to pay the debt we owed (the wages of sin), that we may have life, not just life, but abundant life—eternal life wiiHim. Whenever I imagined God’s demonstration of His love for me, I have always felt a shiver ran through my spine. 

What assurances it gives to the heart when we come to know that the Father loves us so much so that He gave His only Son, in whom He is well pleased, to die in our place for our sins when He knew no sin. He loves us even as He loved Jesus, that He is vitally interested in us as He was in His Son when He walked the earth. Jesus revealed the extent of the care and love of the Father for us when He said:

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who come to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6 vs 37 - 40).

All believers are in the Father’s will. Jesus said He would not lose even one person whom the Father had given Him. Therefore, anyone who makes a sincere commitment to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior is secured in God’s promise of everlasting life. Jesus will not let His people be overcome by Satan and lose their salvation. Out of the sincere and unparalleled love He has for us, He has promised and we, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1 vs 6).

Jesus Himself is “the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12 vs 2), and He who began a good work in us continues it throughout our lifetime and will finish it when we meet Him face to face. God’s work for us began when Christ died on the cross in our place. His work in us began when we first believed. Now the Holy Spirit lives in us, enabling us to be more like Christ every day. The Christian process of growth and maturity that began when we accepted Jesus, continues until Christ returns.

It’s not unusual to sometimes feel as though you aren’t making progress in your spiritual life, especially when you misstep and fall into sin. Do not condemn yourself when it’s obvious that, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8 vs 1). “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” (Romans 8 vs 34). 

Sincerely confess your sin and restore your fellowship with Him, knowing that, “If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (First John 1 vs 9).

When God starts a project, He completes it! God will help you grow in grace until He has completed His work in your life. When you are discouraged, remember that God won’t give up on you. He promises to finish the work He has begun. When you feel incomplete, unfinished, or distressed by your shortcomings, remember God’s promise and provision. Don’t let your present condition rob you of the joy of knowing Christ or keep you from growing closer to Him.

As Christians, the Father’s kind of love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us by the Father (Romans 5 vs 5). This love has God as its primary object, and expresses itself first of all in implicit obedience to His commandments. Also, this love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered; it ought to have no boundaries just as God’s.

The Father’s kind of love seeks the welfare of all (Romans 15 vs 2), and works no ill to any (Romans 13 vs 8 - 10). It seeks opportunity to do good to all, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith (Galatians 6 vs 10). 

Love is considered something we owe, because we are permanently in debt to Christ for the lavish love He has poured out on us. The only way we can even begin to repay this debt is by fulfilling our obligation to love others in turn. Because Christ’s love will always be infinitely greater than ours, we will always have the obligation to love our neighbor. We may not have to die for someone, but there are other ways to practice sacrificial love; listening, helping, encouraging, giving, and so on. 

Therefore, examine yourselves and gauge the quantum of the love of Father in You. What will be your answer when you stand before Him, to a question such as, “My child, how did you use the My love poured out in your heart?” You can start now to prepare your answer in deeds of good works. Hallelujah!

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to practice the love of the Father to all, that I may be a true ambassador of Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How to Fight Anxiety

 

Cast] all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”

Notice: it does not say, “I never struggle with fear.” Fear strikes, and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead, the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, “[Cast] all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” It does not say, you will never feel any anxieties. It says, when you have them, cast them on God. When the mud splatters your windshield and you temporarily lose sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer.

So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that’s more or less normal. At least it is for me, ever since my teenage years. The issue is: How do we fight them?

The answer to that question is: we fight anxieties by fighting against unbelief and fighting for faith in future grace. And the way you fight this “good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7) is by meditating on God’s assurances of future grace and by asking for the help of his Spirit.

The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief, and the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit. The battle to be freed from sin — including the sin of anxiety — is fought “by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

The work of the Spirit and the word of truth. These are the great faith-builders. Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit, the wipers of the word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief on the windshield.

Both are necessary: the Spirit and the word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so that we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our faith grows stronger and the swerving of anxiety straightens out.

LOVE YOUR ENEMY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 09, 2022.

SUBJECT: LOVE YOUR ENEMY!

Memory verse: "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men." (Romans 12 vs 17.)

READ: Matthew 5 vs 38 - 44:

5:38: You have heard that it it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’

5:39: But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

5:40: if anyone wants to sue you and take away your tonic, let him have your cloak also.

5:41: And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

5:42: Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn not away.

5:43: You have heard that it was said, ‘You shalt love Your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

5:44: But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you, and persecute you,

5:45: that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

INTIMATION:

If you love your enemies, treat them well, and do good to those who wrong you, that will truly show that Jesus is Lord of your life. These verses in the passage we read today summarize the core of Christian living. If we love someone the way Christ loves us, we will be willing to forgive. If we have experienced God’s grace, we will want to pass it on to others. And remember, grace is undeserved favor. By giving an enemy a drink, we are not excusing his misdeeds. We are recognizing him, forgiving him, and loving him in spite of his sin—just as Christ did for us. 

The principle of loving one’s neighbor fulfills all that the law would command concerning one’s duty toward his fellow man. A true heart is not one of malice or hate. Hearts of malice and hate identify those individuals who are of the world. The character that Jesus has explained identifies those who are of the spirit of the Father, and thus, sons of the Father. God’s love is impartial. He loved us when we were His enemies. 

In our fallen world, it is often deemed acceptable by some to tear people down, verbally or get back at them if we feel hurt. However, Jesus teaches that we should pay back wrongs with a blessing, such as praying for the offenders. In God’s kingdom, revenge is an unacceptable behavior, as is insulting a person, no matter how indirectly it is done. Rise above getting back at those who hurt you. Instead of reacting angrily to these people, pray for them.

Wrong that is committed against another originates from Satan. Christians must resist the temptations of Satan (James 4 vs 7). However, retaliation against those whom Satan uses to promote his work is not a Christian principle. Therefore, when we treat those who wrong us, and our enemies with kindness and forgiveness, we are frustrating the works of Satan in this world.

Instead of demanding rights, give them up freely! According to Jesus, it is more important to give justice and mercy than to receive it. This is possible only for those who give themselves fully to God, because only He can deliver people from natural selfishness. We must trust the Holy Spirit to help us show love to those for whom we may not feel love. 

When we are wronged, often our first reaction is to get even. Instead, Jesus said we should do good to those who wrong us! Our desire should not be to keep score but to love and forgive. This is not natural—it is supernatural. Only God can give us the strength to love as He does. Instead of planning vengeance, pray for those who hurt you. 

No Christian should seek to get even with someone who has wronged him. It is not the place of any Christian to seek revenge. Revenge is not the work or behavior of the Christian. Revenge of those who have wronged the innocent is the work of God. By telling us not to retaliate, Jesus keeps us from taking the law into our own hands. By loving and praying for our enemies, we can overcome evil with good. Christians should not even retaliate by withholding from those who would ask of them. They must willingly give when compelled by those who would demand of them according to law. 

Lack of love is often easy to justify, even though it is never right. Our neighbor is anyone of any race, creed, or social background who is in need, and love means acting to meet the person’s need. Whenever you see anybody in need, there is no good reason for refusing to help. There is no reward in a love that acts out of selfish motives to do something for others for the purpose of receiving something in return. True love must be unconditional. It must not seek reward. 

In Luke 23 vs 34, Jesus asked God to forgive the people who were putting Him to death—Jewish leaders, Roman soldiers and politicians, bystanders—and God answered that prayer by opening up the way of salvation even to Jesus’ murderers. Jesus was suffering the most horrible, painful death ever devised by sinful man, and he looked at the people responsible for His suffering and eventual death and prayed for their forgiveness. And because we are all sinners, we all played a part in putting Jesus to death. The Good News is that God is gracious. He will forgive us and give us new life through His Son.

Forgiveness involves both attitudes and actions. If you find it difficult to feel forgiving toward someone who has hurt you, try responding with kind actions. If appropriate, tell this person that you would like to heal your relationship. Lend a helping hand. Send him or her a gift. Smile at him or her. Many times you will discover that right actions lead to right feelings. God’s form of retaliation is most effective and yet very difficult to do. By returning good for evil, we are acknowledging God as the balancer of all accounts and trusting Him to be the judge.

The thought of being kind to enemies is always startling in a world where revenge is the common form of justice. God not only introduced this idea to the Israelites, He made a law! Following the laws of right living is hard enough with friends talk less of enemies. When we apply God’s laws of fairness and kindness to our enemies, we show how different we are from the world.

Prayer: Abba Father, Your love for me is unparalleled. I cannot thank You enough for all You have done for me. O Lord, endue me with the spirit of boundless love that I may love as Christ loved in obedience to Your word, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Grace Must Be Free

 

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Picture salvation as a house that you live in.

It provides you with protection. It is stocked with food and drink that will last forever. It never decays or crumbles. Its windows open onto vistas of all-satisfying glory.

God built it at great cost to himself and to his Son, and he gave it to you free and clear.

The “purchase” agreement is called a “new covenant.” The terms read: “This house shall become and remain yours if you will receive it as a gift and take delight in the Father and the Son as they inhabit the house with you. You shall not profane the house of God by sheltering other gods nor turn your heart away after other treasures, but find your contentment in the fellowship of God in this house.”

Would it not be foolish to say yes to this agreement, and then hire a lawyer to draw up an amortization schedule with monthly payments in the hopes of somehow balancing accounts and paying for the house?

You would be treating the house no longer as a gift, but a purchase. God would no longer be the free benefactor. And you would be enslaved to a new set of demands that he never dreamed of putting on you.

If grace is to be free — which is the very meaning of grace — we cannot view it as something to be repaid.