Tag Archives: do not worry

FIRST THINGS FIRST

August 18, 2022Christian Lifeall these things, do not worry, seek first His kingdomLuella Campbell

FIRST THINGS FIRST

“So do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:31-33.

We have already looked at what Jesus said about worry. There is one more thing we need to consider apart from the fact that worry cancels out our trust in God as our Father and makes Him out to be a liar.

When we worry about the everyday things of life, we make things, like food and clothing and all the stuff that the pagans worry about and work hard for, more important than God and His kingdom. That makes us just like the heathen – the people who do not love and trust the living God. God want us to be different because we live in a different kingdom. We are not ruled by “things” but by God’s love and His care for everyone in the world, not only those who love Him.

What did Jesus mean when He said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness”? We may often say this verse but do we know what it means? In the Bible, “righteousness” means “doing the right thing.” God is righteous. That means that He always does the right thing. He loves every person in the world no matter who or where they are. Is that doing the right thing? Yes, it is.

We live in a world that is full of sin. People make wrong choices and do bad things. Other people suffer because of what bad people do. God gave us the freedom to make choices and when we choose to do wrong, He does not step in and stop us because He respects our freedom and does not treat us like puppets. But God always does the right thing when we trust Him. He is able to work for our good even when we make wrong choices or when other people harm us. God does the right thing by bringing good out of evil in spite of our suffering.

God promised to help us and to provide for us if we trust Him and obey what He commands. God had provided enough of everything for everyone in the world. When greedy people hoard what God has provided, other people suffer and become poor. God wants us to have the same loving heart for everyone as He has by sharing what we have so that we can keep His provisions going around. That’s how God rules the world, by taking care of people and giving them what they need, but He does it through us.

When we share what we have, we are also doing the right thing. In that way, God is able to meet everyone’s needs as long as we keep what He has given us circulating. The pagans don’t understand that. They think that they will only have enough if they stash it away like a squirrel stashes nuts for winter. In God’s kingdom, the way to meet our own needs is to help others in need.

The people in the world don’t understand this because it is part of God’s supernatural kingdom. We need to show them how it works by being obedient to God and trusting Him to take care of us as we take care of others. When we do that, people will see what a great and loving God we serve.

DO NOT WORRY

August 17, 2022Christian Lifedo not worry, your body, your lifeLuella Campbell

DO NOT WORRY

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not the life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:25-27.

What person, in their lifetime, has not worried? Of course we all worry. Things go wrong; our children get sick, we run out of money, we lose our job, we have family problems – the list is endless. How could Jesus say, “Do not worry?” Didn’t He understand what it was like to have responsibilities?

Yes, Jesus knew about all these things. He may not have been married and have had children but He was the eldest son in the family. After His earthly father’s death, He was responsible to care for His mother and younger brothers and sisters. He worked hard in the carpenter’s shop to provide for them. Perhaps there were days, even weeks when He had no work. People who run their own business know what it’s like not to receive a salary at the end of the month.

On top of that, He lived in an occupied land where there were Roman soldiers everywhere. People were arrested and punished for all sorts of reasons. They had to pay heavy taxes to Rome for everything. There were tax collectors who not only collected taxes for Rome; they also demanded extra for themselves. Life was hard for the ordinary people.

And yet, in spite of all these difficulties, He still said, “Do not worry.” If He taught His disciples not to worry, it means that it applied to Him first of all. How was it possible for Jesus not to worry in His situation?

The difference between Jesus and the rest of His people was that He knew God as His heavenly Father. He knew that a father knows his children’s needs and cares for them. They don’t have to beg for every slice of bread they eat and every bit of clothing they wear. They don’t fret about where they will get their next meal or where they will live. They know that their father will take care of everything for them. Jesus knew His heavenly Father like that, and He wanted His disciples to know God like that as well.

Worry does not change our circumstances but it does change our attitudes. We cannot trust God and worry at the same time. When we worry, we are telling God that He is untrustworthy. How would you like to tell God that to His face? Would He be happy with you? When we worry we are in effect telling God that His promises are not true – that He is a liar! That’s even worse, isn’t it?

We may not be able to see God but He is real. Just look at the world around you. How did that happen? Everything we see is shouting out to us that God is real and that He loves us because He made the beautiful world with its bounty for us.

So, Jesus urges us, “Do not worry. You have a heavenly Father who loves you so much that He will take care of every need without your having to worry for one second.” Someone said that worry is like sitting in a rocking chair. No matter how much your rock the chair it will take you nowhere! Instead of worrying, praise Him because His promises will never fail.

When we choose to trust God even in difficult times, we will experience God’s faithfulness and we will be able to say, like King David,

“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.” Psalm 37:25, 26.

Jesus And His Disciples’ Future

March 14, 2016Christian Lifebe on your guard, brought before governors and kings, do not worry, hand you over, it will be given you, Spirit of your FatherLuella Campbell

JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES’ FUTURE

Just as much as He prepared them to be His witnesses whenever and wherever the opportunity presented, Jesus also made sure that His disciples were well prepared for what lay ahead for them as loyal followers. Life for them would not be a bed of roses. Association with Him meant danger and possible death because they were not above their Master. As He was, so were they in the world.

Jesus had much to say about His disciples’ future, again not to satisfy their curiosity but to enable them to face it with the right attitude and the right equipment. Unlike our many prophecy boffins who are passionate about setting up timelines, Jesus did not give them a timetable so that they could tick off events as they happened, but He gave them signs which they would be able to recognise, to know that His return was going to happen.

Our prophecy teachers draw charts, make predictions and presumptuous interpretations and love to place us somewhere… here… on the chart. Jesus, on the other hand, gave guidelines to His disciples so that they would always be ready, no matter when He comes. He did not give them any opportunity to sail as close to the wind as possible. Life was about being a mirror of their rabbi so that they would always represent Him to the world around them, no matter what, when or where.

Jesus told them many things about their immediate future. For them it was not a rosy picture! They would share the same hatred and rejection that He experienced because they were His followers. They had to understand that the human race was at enmity with God. Anyone who stood on God’s side would share the treatment He got – therefore it should not take them by surprise. How were they to respond?

Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. (Matt. 10: 17-20)

Whatever Jesus had to say about the future of the individual disciple or all of His disciples was intended to prepare them so that, when it happened, they would know exactly how to handle each situation. He was sending them out like lambs among wolves but they would have a divine companion who was not only with them but in them. The Holy Spirit in them would equip them with the truth. Like Jesus, they were to use the weapon of the Word with which to fight. The outcome was not their responsibility. If people refused to believe the truth, they would have to face the consequences of their choices.

Jesus not only equipped them with information about the future so that they would know what to expect and how to respond in times of adversity; He also warned them against developing wrong attitudes to the apparent delay of His return.

The people in Noah’s day refused to believe Noah’s warning that the flood was coming. They continued to live their God-denying lives until the moment when the rain fell and they were swept away in the flood. Jesus’s return will be as unexpected as that!

The home-owner has no idea that a thief is about to break into his house. Had he known, he would have kept watch to protect his possessions. The household servant who gets tired of waiting for the master’s return begins to carouse and to abuse his fellow servants. When the master returns unexpectedly and finds the household in disarray and the duties left undone, the head steward will be punished for his neglect and abuse.

The point of these stories was to warn His disciples not to fall into the trap of neglect. For them it was less important to know when Jesus was returning than to know that He was coming back. It was not about doing the right thing when He returned as it was about being faithful all the time, regardless of when He returned. This is the heart of a true servant – not putting on an act for the Master to see, but being faithful to the task whether He is there or not. It was this attitude that would safeguard His disciples against being caught off guard.

As followers of Jesus, we must not fall into the trap of thinking that it does not matter how we live as long as we believe in Jesus. We must also not think, like some of the people of the world think, that we can live as we like until the last minute and then put things right with God. If we have followed through this series, we have learned that being a disciple of Jesus means that we have learned to walk in the truth of God’s Word which is the only way to the Father. When we choose our own way, we get lost in the wilderness and will die in the desert without the sustenance of God’s life in us.

How important it is for us to stay on the path by following the voice of our Shepherd! This is the only guarantee that we shall reach our destination and enjoy the life of God forever in His eternal kingdom.

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3, eBook 978-4828-0511-6

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My latest book, The Heartbeat of Holiness, will also soon be available.

An Infallible Banking System

March 11, 2016Christian Lifedo not worry, heart, seek first the kingdom, these things will follow, treasures in heaven, will followLuella Campbell

AN INFALLIBLE BANKING SYSTEM

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6: 19-21)

Being generous is a way of making deposits in a heavenly “bank account” – not literal, of course, but ensuring that we are in on God’s economic system by sharing our resources with others. It is a faith partnership with Him built on trust and obedience. God works by giving back to us what we give away. In this way He gets the credit and we get the blessing!

There is no guarantee that our money is safe in an earthly bank or investment. We are subject to the economics of our country and of the world, and the unscrupulous people who manipulate it for their own ends. The only place where God guarantees a safe deposit and a theft-proof return is in the hands of the needy because He underwrites every investment we make.

Our hearts will always follow our treasure. If the bank in which we have invested our money crashed, we would be devastated, but not if it is a bank in which we have made no deposit. Similarly, if we have invested in a heavenly “bank account”, we will have a great interest and commitment to the place where we have put our money for safe-keeping.

Jesus’s counsel to develop an eye of light means to change our focus. The focus of the pagan is on looking after his own needs. Our focus must be on bringing God’s kingdom here by doing His will. He promised to take care of the rest.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matt. 6: 31-33)

When we do what we can to bring God’s rule into our environment, God does what He has pledged to do – He takes care of our physical needs. This comes with the package. It’s as simple as that.

Jesus did not only instruct us to give in order to get in on God’s supply. He said that the measure we use will determine the measure of God’s supply to us. God works reciprocally with everything. The measure we use to judge others will be the measure used against us. The measure of the mercy we show to others is the measure of mercy we will receive from God. If we refuse to forgive others, God will not forgive us. The measure we use to bless others will be the measure God uses to supply our needs. God is absolutely fair. His principle is:

So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. This sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matt. 7: 12)

Generosity is not about how little we can give to get by, but how much we can give to reflect the heart of God. God does everything in abundance. How many seeds would it take to grow an apple tree? Just one! How many seeds are there in all the apples on one tree? Many hundreds! Just one apple can produce a whole orchard of apple trees. God is generous!

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Luke 6: 38)

Jesus was interested in how, why and what people put into the offering boxes. He condemned the Pharisees for giving to be noticed, but He was not only watching them. He was also watching someone else – a poor widow who unobtrusively dropped her insignificant offering into the box. Just as much as He read the hearts of the Pharisees, He read her heart.

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling His disciples, Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor woman has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.’ (Mark 12: 41-44)

Jesus, aren’t you being a bit insensitive? Didn’t you say that the left hand should not know what the right hand is doing? Jesus saw something different in the heart of the widow woman. He saw obedience, because God said that she must give. He also saw faith because she trusted God to meet her needs, otherwise she would not have given her last resource away. She got what she deserved, a commendation from the mouth of Jesus Himself and, most probably a return on her sacrifice in far greater abundance than what she gave away.