Why Worry Despises God:

Matthew 6:24-27

   ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Do Not Worry

    ²⁵ “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 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? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]?

I've read this passage on worry many times in my life.  Matthew 6 has become one of those "go-to" chapters for me when I feel that my emotions have gotten the best of me.  It's as though these verses have been medicine to my soul, reminding me that God is bigger than all of my problems, that He knows my needs, and that He will take care of me.

But this passage took on a more serious tone as I was reading it the other day.  I noticed something that I had always skimmed through before: the context.  

A rule of thumb when studying the bible in context is to always be aware of verses that start out with the word "Therefore".  The word therefore always signals that you need to take a deeper look into what you are reading.  It signals that this verse cannot be taken alone, but must be looked at in consideration with the verses that came before it.


I've always known this, but for the first time- the context of this passage helped me look at the meaning of worry in a whole new way.

Right before Jesus begins his talk about worry, He is reminding us of our tendency to have a fragmented heart.  He explains as followers of Jesus we can not be double-minded, loving God- but also loving something else, in this case- money.  


I don't necessarily consider myself an idolater.  I don't see myself as a person who serves two Gods.  Whenever I read those verses about worshiping God or worshiping money, I always supposed I was choosing God....undoubtedly so.  


Jesus boldly proclaims that you cannot serve both God and money.  He explains that if you serve one...you will hate the other.   Those are some serious words.


But here's what got me.  Right after making this declaration He goes on to say:


Therefore, [aka with what I just said in mind] do not worry about your life.

Essentially, what Jesus is saying is that by worrying about our life- we have chosen to serve that master of money rather than God.  By worrying, we have allowed the idol of material things to take root in our hearts and become the very thing to which we are pledging our allegiance.  By worrying, we have in essence said that we are devoted to the things of this world...and not to our God.  

We need to take a serious look at the dangers of worry.  We need to begin to see it as the pedestal that allows the material to take the place of the supernatural.  The seed that allows the sin of idolatry to take root in our hearts.  The god that divides our hearts and minds and fools us into believing that this life here on earth is our final home.  

May we say no to the idol of worry. 

Reverend Cable Guy:

John 13:35
By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

I'm in the process of reading a great book called "Jesus Loves You, This I Know" by Craig Gross and Jason Harper.  It's an awesome book written by two men with a heart for Jesus...and in turn, a heart for their worlds and the people in them.  I'm sure I'll be sharing the lessons I'm learning from this book throughout my reading...but one part in particular captured my heart.

Jason Harper is a Pastor with a heart for outreach.  One thing he is constantly teaching from the pulpit is the concept of reaching out to the world around you with the love of Jesus.

But after a challenge from a congregation member, Jason realized that so much of his "ministry" was inward.  Not outward.  He was surrounded by people who loved Jesus...surrounded by his church...surrounded by his "Christian bubble".  His message was easier said than done.

So with a heart of compassion and a determination to practice what he preached, Jason took a part time job as a Cable Collections guy with one purpose in mind: to make contact with the real world.

And he did.

I love this book because it is full of real stories of men and women forgotten by the world...and the average every day life of two pastors who cared enough to do something about them.

I love this book because it echoes the cry of my heart - to reach out to a lost and dying world with the love of Jesus.  It doesn't take a pastor, a counselor, or a ministry leader to be the hands and feet of Jesus...

It takes a cable guy.  A secretary.  A landscaper.  A farmer.  A carpenter.  It takes average everyday people who are willing to say YES to the calling of Jesus, asking us to be His disciples...to follow Him.


During this season of Lent- Take a look at your sphere of influence.  Take a look at the lives you are touching everyday.  And ask yourself: Do you believe Jesus loves them?  Do you believe HE stepped out of His world in order to enter into theirs?  Do you believe that there is a brokenness that can only be healed by the knowledge of His love?

Live a life that answers YES. 

My Desires:

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. 

Desires.  We all have them. For many of us, our desires are a healthy and natural part of life.  We have our innate desires for food and drink.  We desire relationships and community.  We have desires for purpose and value.   

For many of us, though, our desires bring with them feelings of anguish and despair.  Desires of selfishness and pride.  Desires of lust and covetousness.  Desires of idolatry and isolation.  Desires that plague the heart and torment the mind. 

Knowing the power of desire, this verse was hard to understand.  It was hard to wrap my mind around the idea of God granting our desires, for to give us the desires of our heart would be a very dangerous thing.  It’s silly that I often question such things.  It’s almost as though sometimes I read the bible in expectation of a flaw, of a mistake, of something that just doesn’t add up.  And when I feel like I’ve found it, I read on...and God totally blows my expectation away.

You see, God’s granting of our desires is contingent upon one thing: delighting in Him.  That one thing is the foundation upon which everything else is laid.  For when God becomes our delight, our entire world begins to shift- with its dreams, its hopes, its plans and its desires.   

When God becomes our delight, our desires take on a whole new meaning.  When God becomes our delight, we find that our original desires somehow seem to slowly dim.  When God becomes our delight, a funny thing happens.  He somehow takes all of our desires, and draws them to Himself.  He becomes our desire. 

When God becomes our delight, we can rest easy- for the desires that used to haunt us, the desires that used to seek to destroy us, the desires that used to nag at our minds and tug at our hearts- they now belong to Him.  When God becomes our delight our desires become like a compass, leading us closer to Him.  When God becomes our delight, we can finally trust our heart’s desires, because He has placed them there.  They are His. 

May we, Christians, seek to delight in nothing other than our Lord.  May we allow Him to conform our hearts and our minds to His purpose.  May we allow Him to become the foundation upon which all of our desires are built.  May He then take away our human desires and place in us the desires of our hearts.  May His desires become our heart’s desires.  And may we then learn to trust our desires, allowing our desires to lead us into His will.  His good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Lord, you alone are worth delighting in.  Grant us the grace to delight in you today. 

"Marriage is the Second Best Decision I Ever Made!"

Acts 4:20
For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.

I heard a speaker this morning who was speaking on the importance of keeping Jesus as the center of our lives every day- but particularly during this season of Lent. 


One way she does that is by sharing Jesus with the people she runs in to from day to day.  She shared that whenever she is out and about, if she happens to see a young lady wearing an engagement ring she asks:

"Are you getting married?"  If the woman replies yes, she then says to her, "Marriage is the second best decision I ever made!"

I can only imagine the kind of looks this kind of comment might get, but also, the kind of conversation starter that would be...and it got me excited at the prospect of this comment opening the door to good discussion. 

She continues by sharing that the first best decision she ever made- was entering a relationship with Jesus, and becoming a Christian.  As simple as this conversation starter is, it got me excited because frankly, when Jesus is the center of your life and you are truly in relationship with Him...conversation about Him is bound to happen. 


My husband and I were discussing this concept the other day.  The truth of the matter is, whatever is most important to you is that which overflows out of your heart and spills out of your mouth.  You can't help talk about it.  For some people it's sports.  For others- their children.  Hobbies, careers, friends...these are the things that tend to take over every conversation, every face book status update, and every passing comment.

Ask yourself this, what are the things that are overflowing onto your lips these days?  Are they the things that you WANT to reflect your heart?  Because if the answer is no....then something needs to change.  There is truth in he words of Jesus when he explains that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.  Your conversation is merely a reflection of your heart. 

May we be challenged to examine our hearts during this season of Lent.  May we be encouraged to shift our priorities and our affections so that with each and every passing conversation we are pointing others to Him.  

*For more information on what it means to enter into a relationship with Jesus, read this article...and then send me a message, I would love to chat.

For Sinners:

Luke 15:2

This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. 

There are so many things that could be said about God.  Descriptions of His power and might. Miraculous signs and wonders.  Mysterious and unsearchable things.  So many ways to describe His majesty and His glory.  To tell of His mercy and His grace.  To ponder His unfathomable ways.  There are so many ways to describe our God, but nothing compares to this.    

For in this description, we meet a God that is set apart from all other gods.  A God that has not allowed His majesty to hold Him back from our misery.  A God who sets aside His glory for a limitless pursuit of our hearts.  A God who not only welcomes sinners, he dines with them.  He invites them to his intimate table, seats them at his right hand, and takes care of all of their needs. 

We meet a God who gives His all to come find His lost sheep.  A God who will go anywhere and do anything, even to the point of death, to be able to bring us back home.  A God who reminds us that we are not the seekers for He came to seek us.  A God who is willing to break the status quo, reach out and humble Himself- in order to lift us up.

We meet a God who brings laughter where there have been tears, a God who brings his love where there has been hate.  We meet a God who sees sin as something to be forgiven and pain as something to be wiped away.  A God who finds it a joy to delight in us, when we finally respond to Him.  A God who gives the life of His son to remind us that we are His.  A God who finds company in us, in sinners.  Who welcomes us, sits with us, resides with us, and eats with us.   

A God who is for sinners, like you and like me. 

Thank you Lord that you put aside your majesty to save us from our misery.  Thank you that you did so to seek us out.  May we be moved during this season of Lent to open our hearts to you in response to such love. 

Hope was walking beside them:

Luke 24:21

 “…but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel”

With heads hanging low, tearful eyes looking towards the ground, they walked the dark road of despair.  Quietly discussing the events of the past few days, the deep feelings of confusion and disappointment combined in the depths of their souls.   

They had believed so strongly.  They had hoped so steadily.  They had waited all their lives for this.  They had invested everything in this One, this one who would save them.  And now He was gone.  The one who had promised to be their Way, their Truth and their Life.  He was now dead.  And their every dream died along side of Him.  There was nothing left to hope.

To many of us, the disappointment and despair of these women is a familiar and dull pain.  Many of us can understand the feelings of walking aimlessly, teary-eyed, with nothing left to hope.  Giving our all to believe, to hope, to dream.   Finding ourselves trusting in this One, and hoping that he will come through as he said he would; investing our hearts, our time, and our very lives.  And then the moments come where hope is destroyed.  Every dream is buried.  Every wish and expectation shattered.  There is nothing left to hope.

Death wins.  Rejection is familiar.  Disappointment echoes.  Fear Reigns. Depression sinks in. Worry abounds. Guilt destroys.  Anger grows.  Hopelessness encompasses.  Sorrow walks along side.  

And then we hear a familiar voice that challenges everything we thought and takes away all that we had feared:

“How foolish you are, how slow of heart to believe…

The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name…to all nations”

All along, Hope was walking beside them.  When they thought they were traveling alone. He had shattered their death and declared their acceptance; wiped away their tears as he Himself felt the agony of their pain.  He had gone to the depths of Hell, in order to offer them Heaven, and in the midst of their hopelessness, He came to embody their Hope once more.

Life is victorious.  Joy is familiar.  Acceptance echoes.  Confidence reigns.  Peace sinks in.  Love abounds.  Power grows.  Strength encompasses.  Hope walks along side.

Thank you, Lord, that you are our Hope. 

Pity The Fool:

[Thanks to Chris Fenstermaker for sharing this great reflection.]

Psalm 14:1
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

Here we are again.. It's April 1st. "April Fools Day" as so many call it.  And, the Christian blog-o-sphere, twit tweets, statuses and all the other outlets where we Christians are 'free' to voice our opinions do so with yet another mis-quoted, mis-cited, abused bit of scripture.

And there you have it, the Bible verse that says atheists are fools. Or, is this really who this verse refers to?

So often, this verse has been quoted as an attack on atheists. Too often, I believe.  And, in doing so - we have turned many hearts from the Grace of the Father and the very Heart of the Father is grieved.

And there-in lies the misconception. This passage isn't directed at non-believers....Let's look at it closer.

First, read Psalm 14 in its entirety.

Let's hope that none of us are this blind. In my experience it is possible that Christians can be what The Psalmist describes here as the fool.

How could that happen? Fool here is the word nabal. Remember the story of David and Abigail (1 Samuel 25)? Abigail's husband was named Nabal, and was called foolish. It means someone who is contemptible, someone who is empty, someone who cares for nothing other than himself.

It does not mean "an atheist" or one who has no contact with God. It does not even mean that such a person does not see God in His creation. The fool that David is talking about here in Psalm 14 may even admit that God is Creator and even claim that this belief has a major impact in his life.

This person, this "fool," though not an atheist, lives as if he believes no God exists. A nabal is not stupid; he is not a person who does not reason. He is a person who reasons incorrectly. A nabal is a person who chooses or assumes to ignore God's authority over his life. He views God as an "absentee landlord" who may be disregarded because he assumes that God is not really active.

So - here, this verse - Psalm 14:1 is not speaking of "atheists" - but really speaking to the 'Christian' who does not live reflective of what he believes....which places a better understanding of the latter parts of the verse.

Let's rephrase the verse (using the CFT*)

The Christian who lives contrary to what He says he believes is foolish (nabal). His works and deeds are corruptible and abhorrent in God's sight, without purpose, reward, or eternal value.

So in response;  Are YOU, Mr or Mrs Christian, a fool?  Are you one who says that you believe and trust in God, but your life or actions don't reflect that very statement?  I'm not talking about 'to sin or not to sin'....I am talking about living a life that is markedly different because God is present in and through your life...ever present.

How then should we live?  Possibly as Paul suggests in Ephesians, to be very careful how you live...making the most of every opportunity...understand what the Lord's will is. But even more so - live as though we believe that God will do what He has said He will do.

(*CFT - Chris Fenstermaker Translation - unorthodox and unauthorized)

Revised from the original post on October 22, 2009 at Thinking In Reality.