SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/30/2020 9:36 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT2 “Intro to Overcoming Worry”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 6:25-34
Message of the verses: “25 "For this
reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you
will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will
put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 “Look
at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more
than they? 27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to
his life? 28 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of
the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not
even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 "But
if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and
tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe
you? You of little faith! 31 “Do not worry then, saying, ’What will we eat?’ or
’What will we drink?’ or ’What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 “For the Gentiles
eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things. 33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all
these things will be added to you. 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for
tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
We
want to continue to write about what we will be looking at as we begin to study
this section of Matthew, the last verses of the 6th chapter. Jesus had been talking about those who had an
excess of money and what they should do with their funds in verses 19-24, and
not is talking about those who are poor in these verses and what they are to
do.
The
age in which we now live in is an age of unabashed materialism, an age that is
guided by greed, ambition, success, prestige, self-indulgence, and also conspicuous
consumption and I don’t think that there is any who can disagree with this
statement. John MacArthur quotes from a
book written by Jeremy Rifkim who says in his book “The Emerging Order: God in the
Age of Scarcity” Emphasis on continuous economic growth is a black hole
that has already sucked up a majority of the world’s critical, nonrenewable
resources.” The author, who is not a Christian,
makes the closing observation that “the only solution to our approach to life
is the reemergence of the evangelical Christian ethic, which is an ethic of
unselfishness and low consumption.” MacArthur
then writes “The single alternative, Rifkin says, is a constrictive,
totalitarian dictatorship that will control our society and our personal lives
for us.” MacArthur wrote his commentary
on Matthew in the late 1970’s.
There
is a problem with what Rifkin has said when he wrote that book, and that
problem is that most believers show little evidence that even most modern
evangelicals themselves are any longer committed to such an ethic. I think that it is safe to say that many or
even most believers today give much more evidence of following the worldly
trends of our day than they do in setting, confronting, or even modifying these
trends that we are in, which as stated or very similar to the words. MacArthur then adds “In light of that fact,
it is difficult for most of us to identify with Jesus’ warning not to worry
about basic necessities. We are well
fed, well clothed, and well fixed in all other necessary things, and in many
things that are totally unnecessary.
“The
heart of Jesus’ message in our present passage is: don’t worry—not even about necessities. He gives the command “Do not be anxious”
three times (vv. 25, 31, 34) and gives four reasons why worry, being ‘anxious,’
is wrong: it is unfaithful because our Master; it is unnecessary because of our
Father; it is unreasonable because of our faith; and it is unwise because of
our future.”
Now
we get a look at how we will begin to study this section of Scripture, as in
our next SD we will begin to look at “Worry Is Unfaithful Because of Our
Master.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I find that there are far too many times that
I worry which in fact I have to believe that this is totally wrong for a
believer to worry.
A
friend of mine, a new friend that is just went to be with the Lord on Christmas
morning as he died of cancer. Whenever I
would speak to him he would tell me that everything was good, and I certainly
believe this as he was a man of great faith in the Lord.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Be more like
my friend who at this time is enjoying heaven being with His Lord.
12/30/2020 10:11 AM
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