Clothing

P 2552 Look up in the sky … it’s a bird …

/ DVH

…no it’s not, it is an illustration!! Matthew 6:26-34: “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  

We can say His kingdom is our aim, but are we actually living like that is true? I am reminded every single day of the ‘birds of the air’ because my not-friend, the noisy miner, is parked every morning outside the room I’m in, while I am typing. And that little grey bird is just doing what comes naturally. In this passage Lord is not talking about ornithological or botanical interests here. Instead, He uses birds and flowers to point out a great key to our living overcoming lives. The above verses are actually about our personal value to the Lord and WHY we should not worry. 

Day by day our focus needs to be on how valuable we are to Him simply because having that thought will help us live within His kingdom. When we grab hold of the fact that our God cares about plants and birds etc. and He looks after them, it highlights the thought that we are so much more valuable to Him. This means human beings are way up the “pecking order” (s’cuse the bad pun)  when it comes to provision. Simply because we can see that birds are fed and flowers are beautiful, then those things become living visible evidence of God’s far greater passion for us.

I’ve found that worry can paralyse me. It totally distracts me from my real purpose. We were sent into this world to witness to, and visibly live in, God’s kingdom. His kingdom is not just for Sundays, high days, or holidays. It is to be our focus for every single day we are on this earth!  At the same time, Jesus is talking about something that is very important to any human being, our basic every day needs. Food, clothing, shelter. He is not saying we should not pay attention to those needs – He is saying they should not be our major focal point in this life because the birds around us show us that He is more than capable of looking after them!

Yeah. At the same time Jesus is not telling us to go and live under a bridge and dumpster-dive for food and clothes … like some poor souls have to. I believe He’s telling us that worrying about such things is counter- intuitive to the growth of our faith and our daily living within His kingdom. Worry takes over our minds. We become obsessed with things that do not benefit us spiritually. The Lord told me this one day, “turn your worry into prayer and leave it there.” It’s really great advice … and … it definitely takes practice. 

In this passage He explains why worry is bad for people. Worry takes over and accomplishes nothing but angst.  Plus when we worry we forget how much we are loved! Jesus is explaining that God will totally take care of all our needs, and we have that promise to cling to every day … simply because we can see His commitment to the seemingly insignificant things of this world. At the same time He wants to show us that our priorities matter, so we can simply enjoy living in His Kingdom – worry is not ever to be our priority.

I have personally found that worry brushes aside whatever He is actually doing, in favour of what I think or hope He will do. We are far better off to take the time to ask Him to help us understand what is really going on. Instead of overthinking stuff or pouting because some problem or other is not resolved immediately. That doesn’t mean we quit praying about whatever it is, it simply means our first and foremost priority is to believe He is good, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

In my experience, you will not diligently seek SomeOne you are disappointed in, or SomeOne who appears not to care if you are struggling away with this and that. You may even actively avoid them. The Lord is telling us that worrying is a way to dissolve faith, and end up with a barrow load of doubt instead. So we should use the physical signs around us to remind ourselves that God cares. He looks after budgies and eagles, equally as well as roses and petunias, and they are our tangible day-to-day witnesses that our lives are far more important to Him than we can ever imagine.

🦅🦆🦜🦉 … 🌹🌸🌷🌻  Bye…👋

P 2349 Faith is to be generational..

/ DVH

“If your faith remains strong, even while surrounded by life’s difficulties, you will continue to experience the untold blessings of God! True happiness comes as you pass the test with faith, and receive the victorious crown of life promised to every lover of God!”

James 1:12 TPT.

Today, sadly, our society has become people of the immediate. We are addicted to instant answers, instant gratification, instant provision and instant success. When things don’t happen immediately it seems as if we are in danger of losing our faith. The bible doesn’t talk about stuff like that …it talks about eternity, eternal consequences.

Our list of priorities are askew because God isn’t first or last or even in the middle of our list. HE OFTEN ISN’T ON THAT LIST AT ALL. The truth is we all get the same amount of time in a day – it’s the one thing we have in common. And no matter how young or old we are, we will all run out of time eventually! We’ve forgotten that TIME is a gift, to be cherished and used wisely.

But those pesky day to day things press in on us, so we can easily get caught up in the immediate. So this kid has to go to football practice, and that one is off to gymnastics, and the other one is off doing heaven knows what with their mates. We, however, are breaking our necks to the point of exhaustion, because we also have to make sure we work, so we can pay the mortgage or the rent, plus the fees for the football and gymnastics, as well as provide the little darlings with the right clothes to go schlepping about with their mates! 

I think that we have passively taught our kids how to keep themselves busy and distracted, so successfully, it has become hard to get their attention for something really important. Like God’s will, and what He wants.  Instead they have been hardwired into indifference about other people’s pain, by their exposure to various types of media. 

Some times I want to ask people – what the heck did you want to have children for? … The experience?? If you did that then boy did you get gypped!! As I see it, our children are the seeds we sow into a future we may not see. Let’s hope we produce a crop of decent human beings that care about more than the ozone layer! Part of raising kids is to teach them how to manage their own thoughts, attitudes and emotions, while they are wading through this life’s share of difficulties. Instead our generation has chosen to protect them from reality. We’ve taught them that owning your own home and having a great holiday is all there is.

Sadly, most young people today probably won’t see their parents go to homeless shelters, to distribute food and clothing. We’ve protected them from the sad and difficult realities of this life. They don’t see us fast and pray either, or press into God to see what He wants us to do. They may see us plant trees, so we can all continue to breathe, or take stuff to the recycling depot – but have we taught them how to cope with this life’s everyday hardships? Have they seen us turn to God first? Do they watch us pray over things?

You can teach your family about faith and how it works, or you can SHOW THEM how your faith works, in front of their own eyes, when you help and care for others who are struggling. Today, real active, fruitful faith seems to come into the same category as sex – we’ve abrogated our own responsibility and left the work to someone else or handed them a book! Why should children’s church have the sole responsibility to teach your kids to give? We’ve learnt to ‘outsource’ everything – including learning about God. Does your family see you with a bible or facsimile in your hand? When is the last time you prayed with, or for your kid when they hit some snag or other at school?

Future generations must learn that troubles and hardship are normal in this imperfect world of ours. This life is always going to be difficult – it is full of people who all want to do their own thing – but because we all inhabit the same planet,  we are all doing our own thing in a limited space. Kids need to learn about faith more than they need to know how to get tickets to some pop concert or have a well-known brand of sneakers! We must remember that our character reflects our faith levels.

Life is not only difficult, people can be downright impossible, but they can also be instrumental in challenging and growing our faith – and all our kids need faith that is real.. “Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed.” 1 Peter 1:7. What we believe must be shared with the generations that are coming after us – it looks to me like they are going to need it! 👋🏻