The vanities of worldly preoccupation.

[Mr. M]

Whether you are up early, or up late,
see an opportunity to spend time with the Lord.
Psalm 127:
1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.

Maintain good works, for necessary uses in order to
ramain fruitful. Titus 3:14
Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun;
and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Sermon on the Mount, and seeking first the Kingdom
Matthew 6:
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat,
or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.
Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap,
nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is,
and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you,
O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or,
What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek for your heavenly
Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall
take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Paul sees an opportunity for a mutual
concern and ministering among the saints.
Galatians 6:
1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
3 For if a man thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing,
he deceives himself.
4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have
rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
5 For every man shall bear his own burden.
6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that
teaches in all good things.
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;
but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Casting all your care upon Him 1 Peter 5:7
Philippians 4:
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Faith means to commit one's wholehearted trust,
overcoming all worry and doubt
Proverbs 3:
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

 

[Mr. M]

Proverbs 3:

1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:

12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

19 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:

22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

26 For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.

32 For the froward is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous.

33 The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

 

[Mr. M]

1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
2 For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Psalms 25:
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
9 The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth,
To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

Psalm 57:
3 He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah.
God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens:
let thy glory be above all the earth.

Psalm 86:15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and graciousness,
Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

Psalm 89:
14 Righteousness and justice the foundation
of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.
15 Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our horn is exalted.

 

[Mr. M]

7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Romans 12:
9 Let love be without hypocrisy.
Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another
with brotherly love, in honor
giving preference to one another;
11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit,
serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation,
continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13 distributing to the needs of the saints,
given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep
with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another.
Do not set your mind on high things,
but associate with the humble.
Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves,
but rather give place to wrath; for it is written,
“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals
of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good.

 

[com7fy8]

1 Peter 5:7 says >

"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

So, yes, our Father in Heaven cares for us. He cares for us better than we can care about our own selves and about ones who are close to us! So we need, then, to be humble not to boast how much we might care about ourselves and ones dear to us, but entrust ourselves and others to the LORD and how He cares and is able to take care of us.

But worrying can have us boasting how much we care. And so worrying can isolate us so we are not obeying how God would take care of us. And this is why things can have a way of not working for us: what we do in obedience to worry does not work; because what worry has us trying is not what works!

Not only this, but while we worry only about our own selves and only certain people we possess with worry, or our pets, this can also isolate us so we are not loving all others as ourselves. But worry can have us picking and choosing who we care about - - perhaps because in worry we depend on limited resources and therefore worry's way of caring has us limited to our own selves and only certain other people.

And in limited love, worldly and not all-loving, there are people who care only or mainly about their own countries. I have seen how even prayer in a church can be limited to only the soldiers of a certain country, and not blessing others as ourselves and loving enemies in our prayer.

But Jesus warns us >

"if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" (in Matthew 5:46)

So, part of obeying how God cares about us is how we care about all others as ourselves, and other countries as well as we care about the countries wherever each of us lives.

Therefore, we need to submit to God, always, so we are obeying how at each moment He pleases to take care of us. And because God our Father is all-loving, His way of caring for us is all-loving > He also has us doing things to help others while He is caring for us

There always is enough for our own selves, plus God's provision so we can somehow do what is all-loving the way He desires.

And so we share with our Father in how He cares and is all-loving ! ! !

 

[Mr. M]

Therefore, we need to submit to God, always, so we are obeying how at each moment He pleases to take care of us. And because God our Father is all-loving, His way of caring for us is all-loving > He also has us doing things to help others while He is caring for us

Amen, let us receive from Him the burdens of our
heart, and lift them right back up to Him as we
pray without ceasing.