Day 8: Why Worry

The Picture

The Verse:  Matthew 6:24-34 

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.

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?  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?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 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? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The Thought

These verses are packed with thoughts – I may spend a couple of days sifting through all the affirmations, promises and teachings from them. 

What does Jesus mean? Why are we not to worry?

Here He addresses some of the things we worry about.

·        Health—“do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body”

·        Possessions—“what you will wear”

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

There’s plenty to worry about for EVERYONE.  Christians like to pretend that they don’t worry.  They just call their worries, prayer concerns.  Though Christians struggle with worry, we don’t have to be defeated by it.  

To worry is to Miss the Point of Life

Jesus tells us life is far more important than material things. So often our worries are about relatively unimportant and trivial matters, such as food, drink, clothing, houses and cars. Look any typical magazine and you will find it is preoccupied with the very things Jesus told us not to worry about - with clothes, food and drink.  Jesus says that life 'is more important than these things.’
Jesus says here that if we seek fulfilment in material things we are missing the whole point of life. The point of life is to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Worry misses the point of life.

When you hear Jesus’ words, it sounds like he is talking to people who are in poverty here, doesn’t it?  I believe wealthy people worry just as much if not more than poor people.  There’s plenty to worry about for the wealthy and the poor.

The poor worry about how they will get these, the wealthy worry about losing them.

What’s your biggest worry right now?

The Prayer

Father God, I want to begin my prayer by asking for your forgiveness.  I have all allowed worry to have its way with my hearts.  I know that worry is senseless and harmful.  I know this in my head, but I still struggle to choose the way of faith over the way of worry.  Thank you for loving me even though sometimes I have such a little faith that I worry.  Lord, I choose to trust you.  I choose to seek you first. 

Day 7: Living Water

The Picture

The Verse John 4: 13-14

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life

The Thought

Water is truly amazing. Simple, yet brilliant. 
I came across these thoughts once and they made sense to me.   Water is able to dissolve nearly any substance, given enough time, even metals and minerals can be dissolved and carried to living organisms such as plants, trees, and animals. Without these necessary elements, life could not thrive on earth, as these metals would not be found in a consumable state. 

Water's high surface tension not only allows ships to float, but it also is responsible for "capillary action". Think of what water does when you place a paper towel in it. It "climbs" up the paper towel. Trees use narrow channels to take advantage of capillary action. Large trees are able to carry several tons of water per day as high as 100 meters to the very top of the tree. Were it not for water's capillary action, plants and trees could not exist...and neither would we!

One of the most unique and powerful properties of water is that it freezes. Instead of getting more dense when it freezes, water actually expands when it freezes into ice. This causes ice to float. If ice sunk, then during winter, a lake or even ocean would progressively freeze over as water froze on the surface, then sank to the bottom, and so on. Instead of fish and plants surviving under the blanket of protection of a surface layer of ice, they would be frozen along with the rest of the water, and ocean life would cease to exist. This would also affect land life, since a proportionately small amount of the oceans and lakes would be expected to melt during summer causing draught on the land. 

Water evaporates from the oceans and comes to land as rain. The rain falls into rivers and lakes and drains from the land into the oceans and the cycle is repeated. Without evaporation, this cycle would cease to exist and the land would become dry as a desert, and little life could survive or thrive.

Water is God's miracle and is the source of physical life and vitality on the earth. Jesus said that He is living water

Without PHYSICAL water, we will die physically
Without JESUS--the "Living Water", we will also die spiritually

The Prayer

I thirst for your living water Lord God.  Please quench my thirst through the love of your Son. Help me absorb and share His living water and share it with others.  We thank you for physical water to cleanse and hydrate us.  Praise you Lord.

Day 6: The Sea

The Picture

The Verse Psalm 104:25

There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number - living things both large and small.

The Thought

The seaside is my number one place to be!  I grew up near the sea and we could go down to the beach after school.  I would go and sit on the beach and think about stuff - sort out my thoughts and just find peace at the sight of the enormous Atlantic ocean that didn't stop until it got to South America. The power of the water crashing on the beach, the rhythmic roar of the waves, the smell of the salt, the warmth of the sun. I love the sea in all it's moods, in all it's different guises.  It can be a friendly sea to play in, or a mighty destructive force as we have just witnessed in the Tsunami in Japan. 

As for the creatures of the sea, I used to scuba-dive and have dived in various parts of the world.  Seeing the underwater world is fascinating, even when you find yourself cowering behind a rock as a shark swims gracefully past!  And being near dolphins or whales is an experience hard to beat. 
The sea provides us with food, with a route for travelling between continents, with power, with pleasure. 
When I need space to be alone with God, near the sea is my first choice!  Sadly, here in Bristol I don't have easy access to the sea, just a muddy river channel, but if we are going away or out for the day, my family always know my first choice! Our God created the sea and all that lives in it.  He created creatures that live down in the dark depths of the oceans, creatures that no-one seas and yet they are unique and precious to Him.
What magnificence, what greatness!  How awed am I by the hugeness of our God!

The Prayer

Lord God, I thank you for the ocean and for all that lives in it.  Thank you for it's raw power and beauty.   I recognise that the sea can be a dangerous and scary thing too.  We pray for those affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  Lord, may the world come together to provide aid and help as the Japanese people try and rebuild their lives after this devastation.

Day 5: The Path of Life isn't always straight

The Picture

The Verse Psalm 25: 4-5

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.
                                                                                 - Proverbs 3:5,6

The Thought

Have you ever been for a walk and noticed how paths change?  This is typical in a walk through the English countryside.  Some have been clearly defined – very easy to see and with clear markers.  Some are more difficult and have been covered in debris.  Some once were tracks but have grown over and are difficult to follow.

We somehow always expect to be able to follow a straight path when we become Christians, We imagine life will be easy and things will be set out in front of us.  But life is full of curves with sharp bends and the mystery of what is around the corner.  

I can't read maps and somehow am always in charge of the route when we go out.  So we often take wrong turns and it all ends in growling!  I bought David a SatNav a couple of years ago and our journeys are much more peaceful, straightforward and we get to our destination a whole lot quicker!  Every now and again a mad moment comes over me and I challenge the SatNav and persuade David to follow my directions.  We quickly revert to the old  arguments and getting lost!  We need to ensure that we have God set as our SatNav and trust that He will lead us to our destination on the best route!

Do you sometimes feel that God’s paths are not always clear?  You don’t always know where you are going?  Trust in God’s guidance- even when you can’t see it.

The Prayer

 Father God, help us to set you as our guide through life and to trust in the route you have set for us.  Sometimes we feel we know better and stray from the path, which always leads to trouble.

Give me the discipline to listen to and to follow you

Day 4: Are you ready for pruning?

The Picture

The Verse John 15: 1-2

I am the vine and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

The Thought

At this time of year, gardeners are starting to clear up all the dead winter wood and plants out of their gardens to make room for new growth. Plants and gardens need a lot of care and attention, and need to be tended to regularly by a gardener so that they don’t become unruly and tangled.  At different stages of growth, they need to be pruned.  Pruning is the removal of unwanted growth from a plant.  The most common reason for pruning is to give the plant shape and structure which keeps the healthy and ensure a good crop of fruit or flowers.

 My little garden is looking pretty shabby at the moment and I have asked a friend who is a gardener by profession to come and give me a hand clearing it up and preparing it for the summer.

So it is with our faith.  Sometimes we neglect it or we go through a dark, wintery patch and we need some serious pruning and clearing.   We have to remember God has planned our lives and can see the way we will look and the fruit we will bear, so while we feel stripped bare, it is all for the good.  He shapes us so we can grow towards our full potential and bear the fruit of our faith.  He can see what needs to be cut out of our life, what branches are weighing us down and stunting our growth.

It can be painful and we need the support, prayers and love of fellow Christians to help us through. 

How is God shaping you for His service?

The Prayer
Father, we recognise that we sometimes need to be pruned and have parts of our lives cut out because it is preventing us from growing into the shape You want us to be.  Lord, help us accept that You know us and can see our full potential.  Let us trust your pruning and to grow towards Your light.  May we support our friends going through this process as well as accept their love and prayers. Shape me as You would have me grow.

Day 3: Even the spiders!

The Pictures

The Verse Psalm 104:24

How many are your works, O Lord!  In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 

Job 12:10

"In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."

The Thought

Allow yourself to be amazed at all that God has created.

Mighty lions, gentle springbok, beautiful birds and tiny spiders.  God created each of these and their individual beauty.  Animals can teach us how to live.  They don't hoard material things, they hunt what they need.  They sleep easily every night and wake rested.  They aren't malicious and scheming.  They don't pick fights for no reason.  They live their lives trusting that things will be OK, not fretting about what tomorrow will bring. 
They all have a role and live within that role without trying to be what they aren't.
And when they have babies, they teach those cubs/kittens/puppies the life skills they will need when they grow up to be independent.

I have a real fear of spiders.  I'm not sure what initiated it or where it comes from.  But spiders make me want to cry out and run away.  My heart races and I begin to breathe fast.  It is irrational and silly, but I can't help it.  I am horrified to find that Joe has picked up on this and exhibits the same fear as me.  I am trying to put a stop to this, both in him and me.  We go outside and examine spider webs, and take photos of spiders and catch them in his nature pot so we can have a good look at them.  And they are amazing. 
But having passed this phobia to Joe makes me realise how much he copies me.  I hope that I will set good examples in my life - the way I speak to people, the way I behave, my relationship with God.  
Look around and let the creatures of the earth teach us to live by their example.  

The Prayer
Lord and creator of all thing, we thank you for the animals, insects and birds you have put on this earth.  Lord, each of these is precious to You.  How much more so are we precious to You.  Let us learn from an animals simple faith in life and provision.  You have promised to care for me, help me to put that trust in You.

Day 2: Face the Storms

The Picture

By Joe Holmes

The Verse: Job 37:14-18

Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God's wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who is perfect in knowledge? You who swelter in your clothes when the land lies hushed under the south wind, can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze?

The Thought

 When I was a little girl, I used to be terrified of thunder storms.  When I was about 5 or 6, I remember my my dad picking me up and carrying me outside during a typical African summer storm.  As I sat with my arms tight around his neck and with him holding me equally tightly, we watched the lightning and listened to the thunder.

He said to me "You are safe, the storm is quite far away.  Just be brave and look at the lightning, listen to the thunder, smell the air and feel the storm."  I was terrified, but did as he told me.  When my head eventually came out from his neck, I really saw how beautiful the purple clouds were, how stunning the lightning was, and although very loud, how thrilling the thunder was.  We stood for ages as it rumbled away and as the storm passed, the sun came out and it grew peaceful.

Dad then said, "Always remember this, and you won't be scared of storms again."  And he was absolutely right.  I love storms now and relish in their power.  When we get a storm over Bristol, which isn't often enough for me, I take Joe out and show him the wonder of the storm too.  I hope that he will have the same love of storms that I have.

But when we face the turmoil and storms of life, we are often scared and run and hide under the bed!  I have to remember, God is holding me as my dad held me all those years ago.  He carries us through difficult and scary times.  The thunder doesn't get quieter, the lightning isn't less dangerous or powerful, but we can sit close in God's arms and he will hold us while the storm passes over.  I have to remember to rest there, have faith in Him and trust Him.  He has control over the elements.  His power is greater than that of earth.  He is more powerful than any crisis I might face!  How boring would our lives be if we never had storms, never had rain or wonderful cloud formations.  David once remarked that the sky was always too blue during a holiday in Cape Town and I know what he means.  We need the rain and storms to blow away the smog and wash away the dust and dirt.  Life can get too complacent and lazy if we aren't made to shiver once in a while.

The Prayer

Father, help me rest in your arms when facing storms.  I try too often to run things my own way instead of trusting in you.  Help me to face life's storms in the knowledge that they are strengthening me for my walk with you, stopping me from being to comfortable in an easy life.