Be not Anxious
Matthew 6:34 ESV “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Have you found yourself being anxious? It seems we have periods of our lives when we are overcome with worry.
Perhaps our money just won’t last until the next pay period and that causes worry. We’ve worked hard but just don’t see the results of our labor, and that causes worry. Or we are aging and our bodies have seemingly turned against us, becoming limited in range and motion and producing more pain with each passing day.
The Word teaches multiple times that we are to confine our concerns to the day in which we live. The Israelites wandering in the desert tried to store up manna, but God taught them to rely on Him daily by allowing the food to spoil if it was kept more than a day.
When Jesus taught us to pray, we learned to ask for our daily bread. Not weekly, or monthly, but daily.
Jesus said the birds of the air and the lilies of the field are cared for by the Father, and so are we.
May we rely on our Father, relinquishing our worries, just for today.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Psalm 103:12-14
New International Version (NIV)
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
Today is Father’s Day, a day set aside to remember our own fathers and to make the day special for our husbands. One thing that stands out about my father was how easy it appeared for him to sacrifice for his kids.
Daddy loved pork chops, but he would not think of having a second pork chop until he knew his kids had all been satisfied. Similarly with pie or cake, Daddy would have never taken the last piece. It was just not in his nature.
I was blessed to have a father who loved me, so it is not difficult for me to understand God’s love. Some are not that fortunate, but I would like to tell you that you can still know a Father’s love. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”
If you have not known the love of your heavenly father, then Father’s Day is a great day to begin that new relationship with Him.
Father God, as we anticipate another Father’s Day, let us set aside some time to focus on you, to thank you and praise you for all you have done in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Never Alone
(NCV) Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted,
and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.
19 People who do what is right may have many problems,
but the LORD will solve them all.
When people suffer loss, whether due to the separation of death, or other of life’s tragedies, I always point them to the Psalms. After years of study, I know that David went through the highs and lows that make up life and he found the key to survival: to keep his eyes upon the one, true and living God.
We have each been dealt disappointments in varying degrees. One of the quotes I will never forget is “No one gets out of this life alive,” by screenwriter Irving Ravetch.
Life is rife with manifold troubles, yet Psalm 34:18 is one of the promises that when we are brokenhearted and crushed, sometimes to the point of giving up, God will save us. We may not be saved from bodily harm, but as Jesus said in Matt 10:28, fear not those who can kill the body, but fear the one who can destroy the soul.
May we start each day looking to the author and finisher of our faith, knowing with full confidence that we are not alone.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Only Jesus
(NIV)Acts 4:11 Jesus is “‘the stone the builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Today I need to remind you that there is no other name by which we can be saved. Only Jesus.
And it is only Jesus through whom we can receive redemption. It is only Jesus Who can purchase our salvation. It is only Jesus Who died for us, Who was resurrected for us, and Who lives again for us.
It is only Jesus Who has gone before us to prepare a place for us. It is only Jesus Who offers His yoke which is easy, and His burden which is light, and He offers a supernatural peace that you cannot find anywhere else.
It is only Jesus.
There is no adding to or taking away from the Word of God. And when the Word says Jesus chose us from the foundation of the world, it means just that.
Only Jesus. And if you are too ill, or are in too much pain, all you have to do is say “Jesus.”
May each of us whisper His name when that is all we can do, knowing that a whisper is enough.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeing God
(NIV) Esther 3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. 6 Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot ) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. …
When I do a study on Esther, I generally focus on one scripture—perhaps you have been chosen for such a time as this. But with antisemitism on the rise, it seemed more prudent to meditate on the hatred of an entire group of people and perhaps find the root of such disdain.
Haman, an official in King Artxerxes’ court, was offended when Mordecai refused to bow before him. In order to eliminate Mordecai, Haman decided to annihilate all Jews in Babylon. (Of course, we understand this was yet another attempt by the enemy to destroy the lineage of Jesus.)
Why did Haman hate the Jewish people? The answer is found in verse 8: they are a separate people whose customs are different.
You see, even though the Jews had been taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar over 100 years earlier, many did not assimilate into the culture but remained set apart in their faith. So when Haman looked at the Jews, he saw God. People who do not have God in their lives hate seeing God in others.
May everything we think, do and say reflect God, and may we never be afraid to stand for the gospel, so that, regardless of the cost, others will see God in us.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Addendum: In many theological circles, Esther is not considered history, but instead a fable. There was much disagreement about Esther being a part of the canon because the word “God” never appears in the book. Perhaps the Jews of this story were more assimilated into the Babylonian culture than is indicated. But the fact remains that even if the Jews did not remain faithful to God, He remained faithful to them, delivering them from annihilation, and thus preserving the lineage of Jesus.
Seeking Holiness 