August 2017 - Page 2 of 16 - Daily Thoughts about God

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Alfred E. Neuman is the fictitious mascot and cover boy of Mad, an American humor magazine. He often appeared in various caricatures underscored with the words,
“Me Worry.”

The Bible could also have a cover that says the same thing, because the Word is replete with admonitions to not worry, be troubled or have anxiety for or about anything. God’s peace surpasses all human understanding. God encourages his followers to “fear not” 365 times in the Bible, one for each day of the year, Jesus didn’t intend for Christians to spend their days preoccupied with anxiety and worry.

As Christians, Jesus is all around us, like a cocoon of light. His presence is a promise, independent of our awareness of Him. Many things can block this awareness, but the major culprit is worry. Many accept it as a fact of life, but worry is a form of unbelief.

Who is in charge of your life? If it is you, then you have good reason to worry. But with Jesus in charge of our life, worry is both unnecessary and counterproductive.

When we start to feel anxious about anything, we should relinquish the situation to Jesus, by backing off a bit and redirecting our focus to Him. He will either take care of the problem or show us how to handle it. In this world we will still have problems, but we need not lose sight on Him.

Jesus told His disciples to not worry about life, what to eat or what to wear, because life is more than food and the body more than clothes. He reminds us that by worrying, we cannot add even an hour to our lives, but seek the Kingdom of God and these things will be given to us as well. Don’t worry about the world and focus on the thing of God.

By John Grant
Used by Permission
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

We’d love to hear from you. If you don’t see our response form, please go to https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/jg_worry/

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: http://thoughts-about-god.com/four-laws/

“Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!” Matthew 5:3 (TEV)

When Jesus says, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Matthew 5:3 NLT), he means we must come to the end of ourselves. We have to leave behind any self-sufficiency or self-righteousness and come to the place where we realize our only hope is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We must be desperate for God: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule” (Matthew 5:3 MSG).

The original disciples had no experience in how to be a Christian. All they could do was follow Jesus for each next step; they couldn’t rely on worn-in traditions that we so easily lean on instead of our relationship with Jesus. They had nowhere else to turn but to Jesus — and that is how we are meant to follow Jesus too.

By becoming poor in self-sufficiency and self-righteousness, we become blessed heirs of the kingdom.

by Jon Walker
Used by Permission

We’d love to hear from you. If you don’t see our response form, please go to https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/jw_becoming-poor/

Photo Credit: Long Thein, Flickr

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: http://thoughts-about-god.com/four-laws/

Month: <span>August 2017</span>

Worry

Becoming Poor in Self-Sufficiency