Category Archives: Needs

Blessings, Christian Living, Evangelizing, Hope, Needs, Obedience, Promises

But First…God owes us nothin

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matthew 6:33)

We all want God to supply our every need, especially when it comes to our basic, everyday necessities.  I mean, we all know that God is love, right?  He is also our “Good, Good Father” who wants to take good care of us.  So, why shouldn’t we ask and He give us what we need and want?

Well, the answer is in today’s verse.  Did you see the answer?  Let’s look and see what it tells us.

1.  “But seek first…” – this implies that there is a condition to God’s blessings.  We need to be seeking to do something for Him, first.

2.  “the kingdom of God…” – we are to be seeking to grow God’s kingdom.  What this means is that God wants our first priority to be growing His kingdom by sharing the Gospel of Christ wherever we are and make disciples of those who put their faith and trust in Him (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).

2.  “and His righteousness,” – our other priority is to strive each day to live according to the moral standard He has set for us to live by.  God is not going to reward us with everything we need when we are not doing what He has commanded us to do, first.

3.  “and all these things will be provided for you.” – as long as we are working to grow His kingdom and striving to live according to the moral standard He has set for us, then God will supply our every need.  This requires the full measure of our faith in the fact that God is faithful, and that He never lies.

God is not our personal “Genie in a Bottle” that is bound to giving us everything we need and/or want.  He will not let us take advantage of Him.  Remember this, God owes us nothing; we owe Him everything.  Just do what He says, then watch what He does.

In Christ’s love,

Phil

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Christian Living, Doing Good, Love, Needs, Obedience

Christ’s Law

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2 HCSB)

In today’s verse of scripture, we find one of the ways in which God expects, us, as Christians, to live our lives.  Notice that this is command, not a suggestion.  So, as Christians, we are to obey what He commands us to do.  This shouldn’t be hard to do. Jesus is our example.  He lived His life this way and we are to imitate Him.

Lets break the verse down and see what it truly says so that we can obey it correctly:

  1. “Carry…” – this is a command to go, get underneath the burden, and carry it.  There is no, “if you feel like it, go.”
  2. “one another’s…” – this involves all Christians, with no exceptions.  All Christians are to be involved in ministering to one another.  Jesus did this for us, even when we didn’t even deserve it.  We must do the same.
  3. “burdens;” – this means weight.  There are many Christinas who are weighted down with so many problems that they’re about to collapse.  We are not to let that happen.  If we know that they’re suffering, we don’t ask them if they need our help, because their pride will convince them to say, “no.” We just go and do what we can do to help.
  4. “in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” – when we carry each other’s burdens, we fulfill Christ’s moral law.  In another passage of Scripture, God, through the Apostle Paul tells us;

“Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us must please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even the Messiah did not please Himself. On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me (Romans 15:1-3 HCSB).”

As Christians, we are to live for the benefit of others, at the cost of our own benefit.  Jesus is our example, and this is the way that Jesus lived His life everyday.  God, through the Apostle Paul, teaches us that as God’s children, we are to be imitators of God:

“Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God (Ephesians 5:1-2 HCSB).”

If we are Christians, Christ lives in us, and if Christ lives in us, His love and compassion for others lives in us as well.  Then, His Spirit of love and compassion compels us to love and have compassion for others.  If we are not filled with love and compassion for others, there’s a problem with our relationship with God that needs to be addressed immediately.

Are you carrying a heavy load?  Only when we carry someone else’s load can ours be lifted.

So then,

  • how will we obey today’s Scriptures?
  • With whom will we share today’s lesson?
  • With whom will we share the story of our salvation and the story of wehat Jesus did for us?

In Christ’s love,

Phil

 

 

Blessings, Christian Living, Needs, Salvation, Wisdom

What Are You Seeking?

The fact is that, as human beings, we all need food, water and a way to protect our bodies from the elements to survive.  These are the basic things we need to continue living on this earth.  In Genesis 1-2, God makes this fact perfectly clear.  In Genesis 3, however, God tells us that, because of our sin, getting our basic needs was going to be very difficult, and costly (Genesis 3:8-19), and ever since then, it has been.  We have to work long and hard to get what we need, and often times, at a great cost.

But, have you noticed that when we do get what we need there is this sense that we have gotten is not enough?  That, no matter how hard we work, and how much we get and/or achieve, it’s just not enough?  There even comes a time in which we begin seeking that missing piece of our lives that we feel will make our lives complete, and when we can’t find it at work, we look for it in relationships, alcohol, sex, drugs and many other places and things which leave us just as incomplete as we’ve always been.  Is this where you are?  Are you seeking that missing piece in your life?

Jesus has what you are seeking.  Look at what He says,

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you (Matthew 6:33).”

God is willing to provide for all our spiritual, physical and emotional needs, but with certain conditions.  Let’s look closely at what Jesus is teaching us in this very important verse.

First come the conditions for providing our needs:

  1. “But seek first…” – Jesus teaches us what must be our top priority search.  Nothing else can take it’s place. Then, He teaches us what we are to seeking above all else.
  2. “the kingdom of God…” – First, we must seek the kingdom of God.  This means that,  as Christians, our top priority must be to seek to spread the good news of what Jesus accomplished on the cross for the entire world, to the entire world.  As Christians, this is our main job, it is in our job description (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).
  3. “and His righteousness,” – Second, we must seek to conform personal conformity to His standard of righteousness, or holy living.  In other words, we must conform to His moral standards and not seek to live according to the world’s moral standards.  We must summit to His Lordship over our lives and strive to live in immediate, radical, costly obedience to His commands.

Now come the promise of His provision.

  1. “And all these things…” – Jesus wants us to know that He will provide everything we need to survive in this world, and to accomplish what He has commanded us to do.  Notice that He says, “all”.  He will not keep anything from us.
  2. “will be provided fr you.” – He, Jesus, is the source of our provision.  He already knows all that we need and He is ready and willing to provide it all for us.

Look at what Jesus says,

“So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you (Matthew 6:31-33).”

So, what are you seeking?  What drives you, or motivates you each day?  How’s life?

In Christ’s love.

Phil