Daily Devotional For Sunday, November 3, 2024
So grateful that today is Sunday. “This is the day the Lord has made and we can rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24). I pray you take the time and effort to worship the Lord Jesus Christ today. We are making our way through the most famous and best sermon ever – Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount. You can read this in Matthew chapters 5, 6, & 7. Currently, we are in Matthew 6:25-34:
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (26) Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? (27) And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? (28) And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, (29) yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. (30) But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! (31) Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ (32) For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. (33) But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (34) “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (NASB).
In this part of the Sermon On The Mount, Jesus gives us reasons why we do not need to worry. As we saw yesterday, Jesus gives us two examples from nature. The first example we looked at yesterday – birds. Today, we come to the second example from nature – flowers, especially lilies of the field. You probably have heard of the Mayo Clinic, right? Charles Mayo, who founded it, once said this: “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands and the whole nervous system. I have never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who died of worry.”
Most scholars think that Jesus referred to “the lilies of the field,” He was referring to all wild flowers that were in great array, variety and graced the hillsides of Galilee. Since Jesus is teaching from a hillside, it is possible He pointed to them and/or plucked one to show them. Flowers never worry about anything. Jesus referred to the wealthiest king ever in Israel's history – Solomon. This means that Solomon had the most opulent , finest garments to wear that were not as glorious as these wild flowers.
Pastor and author John MacArthur writes this:
“It is an indictment of our day that we spend so much time, money, and effort to dress ourselves. Lusting after costly, stylish clothes is sinful, because its only purpose is to feed pride. The number of clothing stores we have today, and the vast amounts of clothes we find in them, is staggering. Many people have made a god out of fashion, and shamelessly waste money on expensive clothes they will wear but a few times” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 424).
In Jesus’ day, most people only had one robe to wear. Jesus told His hearers not to worry about clothing. We have closets and chest-of-drawers bulging with clothing and yet we idolize shopping for more when we do not wear all that we currently have. Hollywood is not the only ones guilty of this: all of us are. We may not strut with the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, but we do parade around in the latest fashions.
Now for some of you, you may be wondering: “There are famines and starvation all around the world.” According to the experts, each day, 25,000 people, including more than 10,000 children, die from hunger and related causes. Some 854 million people worldwide are estimated to be undernourished, and high food prices may drive another 100 million into poverty and hunger. So, how do we respond to Jesus’ words here? New Testament scholar Bruce B. Barton writes this:
“What about starving families in African refugee camps? If God supplies food for birds, why not food for street kids in Rio? Jesus is not teaching that every case of hunger will be satisfied with food. Not every hungry person in his own day was fed, and surely in the course of human history many people would go hungry. Unfortunately, some would die for lack of food. Jesus is teaching us to focus our minds, channeling our efforts and directing our energies not to mere bodily maintenance but to God’s eternal purposes” (Source: Bruce B. Barton, The Life Application Bible Commentary, p. 124).
We have to cultivate an attitude of contentment. The Apostle Paul certainly did this. He writes about in Philippians 4:11-13:
“And I am not saying this because I feel neglected, for I have learned to be satisfied with what I have. (12) I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little.(13) I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me” (GNT).
Questions To Consider
- When it comes to food and clothing, do these occupy much of your time, thoughts and energies? Why or why not?
- There is no doubt that starvation exists around the world. What are you personally doing to help with this? If you doubt you should, then take your Bible and read Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:31-46. What does this tell you?
- What do you think of Charles Mayo’s quote above?
Scripture To Meditate On: Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (ESV).
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly