FBC Daily Devotional – July 15, 2021

Well, a good Thursday morning to you. I trust that you will pardon me for Diverging from our normal path.

I have all this year in these daily devotionals Except for one other time. I think

I have stayed in the text of the day that is the

Bible reading passage for the day and Had the devotional center on that passage.

Well today. I really want to Pick up on yesterday's from yesterday's devotional because there was a whole

Whole section in that reading that I couldn't cover. I just didn't want to take didn't want to spend all the time doing so I Trying to make it a goal to you make these devotionals a little more brief.

So don't waste all your time. But nevertheless We just focused on one a couple of verses from yesterday's reading in Luke chapter 12 and really skipped over the bulk of what

Jesus addressed in that particular reading yesterday's passage and that has to do with Jesus antidote for Anxiety and he talks about this in Verses 22 and following he says

I say to you do not worry about your life. Don't let your life be filled with anxiety

All right, so that's the exhortation. What's the antidote? How do

I just not? Let my life be filled with anxiety and worry And so Jesus offers four ideas and let me just share these with you very briefly one of them

If my life is going to be freed from anxiety and worry over my life

Then I need to restructure my values and he what he says in verse 23

Helps to restructure those values. He said yes this guy who makes this point He says life is more than food and the body is more than clothing

Those are a couple of basic things of life that we can be concerned about what we eat what we wear

Do am I gonna have the shelter the protection for my body? Am I gonna have the right kind of food and enough of it for for me to eat

Well life is more than food the body is more than raiment or the protection that it offers to us and I need to reorient.

I need I need to restructure my values so that I place life over eating and the body over the protective clothing

Rather than focusing all of my attention on the lesser things is what what

Jesus is saying here Restructure your values second thing. He says is we need to do some reflection

Reflection first place reflect on God's provision in verse 24 He says consider the

Ravens consider how God provides for the birds the Ravens. They don't so they don't reap

They don't have storehouses or barns, but God feeds them and how much more value are you than the

Ravens? consider God's provision and again The values here if God will provide for a

Raven He'll provide for you who are his children and verse 27 consider the lilies how they grow

They neither toil or spin yet I say even Solomon on his and all his glory wasn't arrayed like one of these

God knows how to provide the things that we need to care for Life so that we can have life sustained and to provide protection

So that life and the body can be protected reflect on God's provision how he provides just in nature

But he also encourages us to reflect on the futility of worry

So sandwiched between those two Encouragements to reflect on God's provision

Jesus Reminds us about how futile it is to worry. He says which of you by worrying can add once one cubit to his stature

You can't you can't add an inch to your stature by worrying about it

You might be able to add some height to your stature if you stretch yourself out long enough and hang from something you know, so I may be for a period of time, but You can't do that by worrying can't make yourself any taller by worrying

If you're not able to do the least thing Jesus says how can you be anxious about the rest?

Why should you be anxious about the rest reflect on worries? Futility so restructure your values reflect thirdly refocus your energies refocus your energies verse 31

Jesus says seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness and These things will be added to you seek the kingdom of God seek the rule of God in your own life in Your world in your arena you're the realm in which you live

Seek out seek that God's will be carried out in your life and your family

You know your home as much as possible in your workplace Maybe you can't affect affect and ensure that the will of God is

Conducted on the part of those who are over you in the workplace and in the management of the workplace but you can ensure that you work in a way that Demonstrates the rule of God in your life

Refocus your energy on the kingdom of God trusting in his generous provision

Trusting that if you will focus your energies on the kingdom of God God will provide and take care of you

Fourth thing Jesus says is reorient your heart Reorient your heart this comes out in verses 33 and 34 says sell what you have give alms.

Don't be so consumed with consuming and hoarding and and and and Grasping and holding on to for yourself for your own selfish purposes

He says provide yourselves money bags, which do not grow old a treasure in the heavens that does not fail

Where there no thief approaches or moth destroy it's for where your treasure is There will your heart be also

Reorient your heart What is it that you really really treasure you see?

What are the things that are most important to us? that we're grabbing and holding on to Is it the

Will of the Father is it his good pleasure is it serving him and others in a way that gives him delight

Those are the things that are lay up treasures in heaven And so reorient your heart

This is really the way to live with with a minimal amount of anxiety Restructuring our values reflecting on God's provision and the futility of worry

Refocusing our energies on the kingdom of God and reorienting our heart

May God help us to do so our Father in heaven Some of us even today are filled with anxiety about stuff related to our lives

I pray we would employ these principles to help

Reduce eliminate that anxiety we pray and we ask this in Jesus name.

Amen All right, have a good Thursday, I hope a good worry -free anxiety -free day.