Hearing Jesus is a devotional journey through the gospels, where we explore the teachings of Jesus chapter by chapter. Connect with her over Twitter LISTEN: Being Complete in Jesus (Understanding Matthew 5:21-48) She draws inspiration for her writing from everyday life. Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/diego_cervoĭolores Smyth is a nationally published faith and parenting writer. Why Is it Important to Have an Eternal Mindset? What Does it Mean ‘Be Anxious for Nothing’? How Are God’s Mercies ‘New Every Morning’? What Did Jesus Mean That We Will Have Trouble in This World? What Did Jesus Mean by ‘Let Not Your Hearts be Troubled’? Is ‘Because He Lives, I Can Face Tomorrow’ in the Bible? In telling us not to worry about tomorrow, God is asking us to trust that He’ll give us enough strength to face each day as it comes and that He’ll do it all over again tomorrow! The Lord knows how easily our daily troubles can snowball, and how easily we get overwhelmed as a result. In living for the Lord, however, you’re called to abandon false idols and walk towards the reward of eternity. In serving your worldly desires, you’re bound to make harmful choices to feed those fleeting relationships. More important than alienating others in your pursuit of false idols is damaging your relationship with God.Ī “master” is someone that you serve. Then, it’s only a matter of time before your avarice impacts the people around you, alienating those who love you and attracting those with solely materialistic goals. If your heart is fixed on amassing money, your words and deeds will be driven by those greedy motivations. Scripture warns to guard your heart above all else, for everything you do flows from it ( Proverbs 4:23). The problem is when you become so focused on accumulating wealth that your heart desires the almighty dollar more than it does the Almighty God. There’s no question that money is necessary to live a healthy and safe life. It’s easy to live in pursuit of worldly things to the point of turning those things into idols. You cannot serve both God and money” ( Matthew 6:24). Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Beware of false idols. “ No one can serve two masters. Otherwise, you risk becoming part of something sinful that can cast shadows to darken the path towards God.ģ. One way to do this is to choose your daily activities and influences wisely. If the eye is the lamp of the body and the purpose of a lamp is to help you find your way, keep your eyes on the good things in life to best illuminate your walk towards God. In contrast, if you choose to focus your eyes on sin, eventually that darkness will take hold and warp the way you feel, act, and perceive the actions of others. In a similar way, when you pray, you’re giving God a chance to work in your life. When you’re busy planning, you move out of the unproductive state of worrying about a problem and into the productive state of looking for ways to solve it. Planning and praying are both action-oriented. To keep from being swept away by anxious thoughts about the future, put your mental energy to better use by planning for what you can and praying for God’s guidance at every step. He wants you to believe that He’ll come through each time. God doesn’t want you to test His promise that He’ll care for you daily. Likewise, fretting about tomorrow also shows a lack of trust in God. When the Israelites collected extra manna to store up food for tomorrow, God caused that additional manna to spoil because of the Israelites’ lack of trust in His daily provision ( Exodus 16:20). Consider how God sustained the Israelites in the desert with just enough manna for the day ( Exodus 16:16-19).
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