a 365 day trip through Matthew with a key thought, prayer, focus verse and contextual verses for each day
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The Lord is coming soon. Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (NCV)
Philippians 4:5-7
Be humble under God’s powerful hand so he will lift you up when the right time comes. Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you. (NCV)
1 Peter 5:6-7
Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never forget you.” So we can be sure when we say, “I will not be afraid, because the Lord is my helper. People can’t do anything to me.” (NCV)
Hebrews 13:5-6 |
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March 18
Ultimate Splendor - Matthew 6:27-30
“You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it. And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith!”
Full Text
Key Thought
What's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? While God made many wonderful and marvelous sights for us to see on our planet and in the universe, God still calls us his children, his most marvelous work.
King Solomon was richest of the Israelite kings. He had clothing beyond compare in the ancient world, but the beauty of his garments couldn't rival that of the wildflowers on the hillside. God gives these flowers beauty and nourishment out of his grace. Jesus reminds us that if God takes that much care with wildflowers, then won't he do even more to take care of us, his creations of splendor?
So let's not worry. Worry is a bad habit. Worry is an undisciplined heart seeking after the wrong things. Instead, let’s pursue our Father. Let’s cast our anxieties at his feet and trust in his care. Yes, there may be some bumpy and heartbreaking times as we make our journey through life here on earth, but his grace will ultimately bring us to his glory and splendor.
Today's Prayer
Please give me patience, O Almighty God. I want to cast my cares and anxieties on you, but I'm not quite sure how to let them go. Through your Spirit, help me relinquish my search for significance in what I can acquire, possess, control, or invest. I want to trust you and rely on your gracious provision. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Today's Verses with Jesus
(key verses in bold)
19 “Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on
earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can
break in and steal them. 20 But store your treasures in heaven
where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where
thieves cannot break in and steal them. 21 Your heart will be
where your treasure is.
22 “The eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are
good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes
are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the
only light you have is really darkness, then you have the worst
darkness.
24 “No one can serve two masters. The person will hate one
master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse
to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly
riches.
25 “So I tell you, don’t worry about the food or
drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your
body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes.
26 Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or
harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds
them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds.
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27 You cannot add any time to your
life by worrying about it. 28 “And why do you worry about
clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t
work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you that even
Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of
these flowers. 30 God clothes the grass in the field, which is
alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be
even more sure that God will clothe you. Don’t have so little
faith!
31 Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What
will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 The
people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things,
and your Father in heaven knows you need them. 33 The thing you
should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what God wants.
Then all these other things you need will be given to you.
34 So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will
have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
(NCV) The New Century Version, (Dallas, Texas:
Word Publishing) 1987, 1988, 1991.
Used by permission.
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