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Do not Worry, But Seek God First Matthew 6/7. Day 16, Jan 16, Read Through the Bible Project

By Anita Mathias

[TheBirdsAir_811_sm+02-13-2009.JPG]
Nancy Standlee
MATTHEW 6

    25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry

If Jesus says it, then of course, this is a doable enterprise. 

So what are you worrying about? 
I am concerned about a blip in our family’s publishing business after a great December.
I don’t have a particularly good feeling about an upcoming meeting.
Think of two of your worries.
Think of the worst outcome in all these situations.
You will be in the loving hand of God even if the worst possible thing happens in all these situations.
There is no guarantee that they will work out as you might wish, but God’s love and power and grace will be with you however these work out.
Do not worry. You are God’s child. He will hold you through the best and worst outcomes, and make the latter work out for good.
In particular, do not worry
 about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 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 much more valuable than they? 
The creatures are alive and happy, depending on their Father’s abundance. And you are more valuable than they are. And anyway.
 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
ALL worrying is futile anyway, so make the mental effort not to do it.

   28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 
Have more faith in God. He will look after your needs as he looks after those of the beautiful flowers of the field.

30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
Jesus coined the Greek word for you of little faith–oligopistoi. It has a slightly comical sound.

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 

Your father knows what you will need. He will give it to you. So quit worrying.


33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Use this as a rule and guide. When you want money, seek first for him to be your King. Submit yourself to him. Obey him. Seek to do his will.

Seek to do his will in the situations and institutions in which you are involved.
Seek to do the right thing.

And when your focus shifts from money to obeying your Heavenly Father, and seeking to do the right thing, money will be given to you as well.

Seek first things first, and second things will look after themselves.


34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Do not worry about tomorrow. You will be given wisdom and strength tomorrow.  
Matthew 7
 1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
   3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Do not sit as a judge over the actions, intentions and hearts of people, deciding if they are innocent or guilty.
I really believe this is the solution when wrong is done, and anger and a judgemental spirit overwhelm our hearts.

Beam-research. Repent.

What is there is my eyes which you wish to remove? How can I dance more closely with you, Jesus? Allow you to breathe your Holy Spirit into me more constantly?Use my time and my gifts better?

You know what–there is energy in these questions and answers, but none at all in judging and anger.

Blog on this subject–http://theoxfordchristian.blogspot.com/2010/12/judge-not.html

 6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Be wise and careful and canny in how you reveal your heart, and what you reveal. 
 7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Asking, seeking, and knocking will be rewarded. A great saying of Jesus. And how do we know if this is true? We will have to take him at his word as the Syro-Phoenician woman did, and ask, seek, knock. 
   9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 
We, selfish as we are, look out for our children. Similarly, our Father WILL give good gifts to those who ask him.


12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

The so-called Golden Rule is an excellent guide to  behaviour. However, it has limits.
What if someone is being abusive? Leading by fear and control. Nobody would wish to be confronted or “called” but sometimes this is the right thing to do for the greater good. 
   13 “Enter through the narrow gate.
The poet Rainer Maria Rilke has this puzzling saying, “Trust what is difficult.” If two choices face you, God is often more likely to be what is the more difficult part (I think). 
 For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
True life, true spiritual life, is not easy. The gate to it is is narrow, and so is the road to it. 
The ESV describes the easy path as seeking the approval of man rather than God.
And many church-goers miss it. Miss the joy, and miss the peace, and miss the love. Miss living in the force-field of God’s love, power and provision. In the meteor shower of his grace and presence. 
Do whatever it takes to be truly and fully alive in God’s presence. 


Proverbs 2
 1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God. 
Seeking wisdom, understanding, insight desperately will teach you to KNOW God, and will teach you the fear of God which will save you from much folly.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 
The Lord gives us wisdom, and he also gives us knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds success in store for the upright, 
He often gives the upright success, according to his plans for them.
 he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.
He protects those whose walk is blameless.

 9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path. 
If you desperately seek wisdom, you gain the understanding of what is right and just and fair.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Wisdom and knowledge will grow sweet and pleasant to you.
11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
 12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.
Wisdom and discretion will protect you from wicked, perverse, devious people. Thank you, Lord. 

 

 

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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