January 15, 2025 | Be God's Family
Jesus Teaches About God, Money & Worry
Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34(NIV)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
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.
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 lif?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Devotional
When we first moved to Fishers, our yard was not much to look at. The newly built home had sod in front and that "green painted grass seed" out back. One day, as I was driving past one of the many empty fields on Olio Road that are all paved over now, I pulled into one and dug up a few wild tiger lilies. They were pretty and I knew that they had to be hardy, so I transplanted them into a back corner where the grass seed had already washed away. I remember taking pictures of them the following Spring as they had spread and bloomed a beautiful symphony of red, orange and gold.
Many Bible versions like the NKJV, RSV and ESV translate verse 28 as, "Consider the lilies" and, whenever I read that, I always think of the pictures of those lilies decorating our powder bathroom.
Our verses today about treasure in heaven and worry really speak to our focus and priority. We wouldn't strive so hard for the treasures of the earth if our focus was on Jesus. And we wouldn't worry so much, as if everything depended on us, if our priority was dependence upon Him.
As a young couple in a new house, expecting a second baby and making what felt like monumental mortgage payments, we had a lot to worry about. Thankfully, we made the decision to come to Fishers UMC and surround ourselves with our church family.
The lawn has grown in and that second baby is now a Senior in college. Twenty-three years of raises have made the mortgage payments a lot more manageable. It's funny how our worries may have changed, but the God we follow has not. Listen as He whispers to us through Matthew the timely wisdom and calming knowledge that the things that we strive after and are anxious for today will fade like they did for that young couple.
How will you trust in Jesus today and let tomorrow be anxious for itself?
Poem
Worry
Psalm 25
Worry
When it comes knocking
I will not respond
Instead
I will attend to the tasks
Of my temple
I’ll set the table of Trust
I’ll feast on the Promises of God
I’ll drink the sweet nectar of Hope
Worry
When it gets louder
I will not respond
Instead
I will turn up the volume
Of my praising
I’ll recount the Goodness of God
I’ll dance in the Praises of Thanksgiving
I’ll call out my Petitions at the throne
Worry
When it breaks through my door
I will not respond
Instead
I will plant my feet at the threshold
Of my household
I’ll declare that my doorposts are bloodstained
I’ll name the Lord of my home
I’ll let my Husband protect me
Worry
When it runs from my mind
I will respond
With deliverance
I will kneel at the feet
Of my Savior
I’ll weep tears of joy
I’ll anoint with oil His pierced feet
I have chosen the better portion
