Give God That One Thing

We worry about so many things and many of those worries are focused squarely on tomorrow. Jesus said that we shouldn’t worry about tomorrow, but instead we should trust God today.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

Today is going to have enough troubles as it is. So why worry about tomorrow? Let’s get through today first. Let’s walk hand in hand with our Heavenly Father today before we try and run ahead of Him for tomorrow. God is well aware of what’s going to happen tomorrow. After all, He’s already there. God isn’t bound by time and space. He’s not bound by your worries and fears, either. God will handle all of the problems and worries that you will give to Him. He’s bigger than your fears. He’s stronger than your problems. So let go of your worries and let God handle them today. Pray to Him now and tell Him that you’re giving Him that one thing you’re most worried about today.

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It Will Be Provided

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” — Genesis 22:6-8 (NIV)

One of the amazing things about the story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac is Abraham’s trust and confidence in God.  He did not know how God would provide the lamb, he just knew that God would provide the lamb.  Maybe a thousand different scenarios ran through his mind.  Maybe he had it all planned out.  “We are going to do this and then God is going to do that and then everything will be cool.”  Or maybe Abraham truly trusted God.  He didn’t keep a lookout for lambs on the way up the hill.  He simply obeyed God and trusted that when the time was right, God would provide.

What about us?  When things are tough and we are having a hard time trusting, how do we respond?  Do we worry and fret?  Jesus said not to because the Father knows what we need.  If we will seek after the things of God, His kingdom and His righteousness, we’ll have everything we need.  We need to simply trust that God will provide.  Like Abraham, we don’t need to know the how, we just need to know the will.  He will provide.

PRAYER: Help me to trust You today, O Lord. May worry be far from me as I seek Your kingdom first. You know what I need before I ever say it. Thank You for this amazing love You have for me that was expressed through Jesus on the cross. Amen.

Greed And Hoarding

Luke 12:13-21 (NIV)

The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Greed.  In the Parable of the Rich Fool, Jesus warns against it.

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” – Luke 12:15 (NIV)

Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV):

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Notice that Paul does not say that money is the root of all evil.  He says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  Kyle Idleman, in his book Not A Fan, says about the rich young ruler that the problem wasn’t that he had money, but that money had him.  It is far too easy to become possessed by our possessions.  To be worried about our things instead of focusing on our faith.  Our Heavenly Father knows what we need. He will provide for us when we trust Him.  We must seek first those things that are most important – His Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33) and He will bless us with all that we need.  Jesus is telling us today, “Don’t worry.  Don’t hoard.  Don’t store up the things of this life.  They are only temporary!”  Let us seek the things of God for then we will truly find blessings and riches beyond our wildest dreams.

PRAYER: Father, help me to focus less on material things and more on the eternal things. Help me to know that You hold all things together. I don’t want to be greedy. Instead, I want to be thankful. Thank You for all that You have provided for me. You are faithful. Amen.

Know That God Is God

Psalm 46 (NIV)

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song.

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 

No matter what happens, God is God.  Look at some of the things that happen in our world from Psalm 46 (NIV):

• The earth may give way (verse 2)
• The mountains crumble and fall into the sea (verse 2)
• The seas roar and foam (verse 3)
• The mountains quake (verse 3)
• Nations are in uproar (verse 6)
• Kingdoms fall (verse 6)
• War (verse 9)

Do any of these sound familiar?  We hear of natural disasters throughout the earth.  We hear of nations falling in political turmoil?  There are wars everywhere.  Terrorism abounds.  Violence seems to be the order of the day.  The Sons of Korah say it twice, though:

The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. – Psalm 46:7, 11 (NIV)

We need to remember that God is with us.  He will not leave us.  He will not forsake His people.  Instead of freaking out, we must “Be still, and know that” He is God (Psalm 46:10, NIV).  Know that God is God.  Know that He will silence the nations and the violence.  He is our refuge and strength.  He is our help in our times of need.  He is our loving Father who patiently and gently deals with His wayward children.  Remember His deeds of the past.  Remember how He has carried you and held you and given you His peace.  No matter what you may be going through today, He is there.  Know that He is God and He loves you and cares for you deeply.

PRAYER: Help me to know that You are God today, O Lord.  Help me to be still and to stop worrying about every detail of my life.  Help me to remember that You are God and You are in control.  Thank You for your love, care and concern.  Amen.

Blessed To Use Our Time

The latest message from Griffith First Christian Church in Griffith, Indiana.

Daily Bread

Give us today our daily bread. — Matthew 6:11 (NIV)

…do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. — Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

We spend so much time worrying about tomorrow.  John Powers said, “Worrying is the same thing as banging your head against the wall.  It only feels good when you stop.”  I LOVE THAT!  Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” (emphasis added).  In other words, don’t worry about what you are going to eat tomorrow.  Know that God will provide for today’s needs.  While tomorrow will come, we must remember that God is already there.  He knows what tomorrow holds.  He is the same God who is here today.  He will provide for tomorrow’s needs tomorrow.  Let Him worry about tomorrow.  Pray and trust for today.

This is a message that I need to be reminded of constantly.  I need a big ol’ sign on my forehead that says, “Stop banging me against the wall!”  I worry waaaaaaaay too much.  God knows what I need and has promised to be my provider.  God has blessed me in so many ways.  How can I doubt Him yet again?  That’s the root of worry — doubt.  We will doubt God’s willingness and ability to provide and we have no basis for either.  He has promised to provide and of course He has the ability.  Nothing is impossible for God.  I think that it is when we confuse wants for needs that we get into trouble.  We will pursue our wants and then we don’t have enough for our needs.  That’s when we cry, “HELP!” and we start to sink.  Our eyes turn to our circumstances instead of our Savior who is ready, willing and able to catch us when we sink into doubt.  Trust for today, my friends and God will provide our daily bread.

PRAYER:  Father God, I need Your daily provision in my life.  Help me to remember that You are the one who provides for all of my needs.  Help me to know the difference between wants and needs that I may be wise with how I use what You provide.  Thank You for providing for me in the past.  Help me to trust You for today and to remember that You’ve got tomorrow already taken care of.  Thank You for Your love and grace.  In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

A Solid Foundation

But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.  — Matthew 7:26-27 (NIV)

Jesus’ longest recorded sermon is the Sermon on the Mount.  It is full of practical ways to live for the Kingdom of God.  Jesus clearly defines what a Kingdom person looks like.  The one thing that a Kingdom person will do is to put His words into practice.  Why?  Because they provide a solid foundation for our lives.  He compares the wise and foolish people with two men building homes.  One builds his home on a foundation of rock and the other on a foundation of sand.  When the storms come, one house stands and the other falls flat.

How true is this in our lives?  When the storms of life come, we discover the foundation on which we’ve built our lives.  If we are putting Jesus’ words into practice (especially, I believe, Matthew 6:25-34), then we can withstand the storm.  If we are not putting Jesus’ words into practice, our lives fall apart quickly.  As we face storms in our lives over the next few weeks, may we read Jesus’ words and put them into practice.  It’s not good enough just to hear them.  We need to live them!

Have a great weekend!