Advent Daily Devotional
THIS WEEK
Lenten Devotional 3-26-23
Sermon on the Mount
March 27, 2023
Matthew 6: 25-33
25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
So … we store up treasure in heaven, we look at the world with Godly light, we worship God and not money. What does that mean for our personal mindset? In the words of Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t worry be happy”. While the Gentiles strive for worldly things, they fail to e happy. But if one strives first for the kingdom of God – and God’s righteousness – you will receive all that you need. It is a matter of focus. Focus on God and you always get what you need. Focus on worldly things, you rarely if ever get what you want. Take what God provides and … well … be happy.
Lenten Devotional 3-25-23
Sermon on the Mount
March 25, 2023
Matthew 6: 24
24 ‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Many people believe that the Bible says, “Money is the source of all evil”. The Bible does not say that. Money is a neutral thing. Saying money does something is like saying a rock does damage when it hits a window. The rock does not damage the window. It is neutral. Only when someone throws the rock is damage done. It is only when we worship money that money becomes the source of evil. We greedily hoard it and seek it because we worship it. It is our god to the exclusion of any benefit it might have to those around us in need. So, money becomes our master. Though we might say that we also serve or worship God, one must take precedence over the other. We cannot worship both. If we choose money, we “hate” or “despise” God. If we choose God, we are more likely to share our wealth, the wealth God gave us. Which is it going to be? Who, or what, do you love? Who, or what, gets the top spot?
Lenten Devotional 3-24-23
Sermon on the Mount
March 24, 2023
Matthew 6: 22-23
22 ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
When I was a kid, I loved to go to Kennywood. One of the big attractions was Noah’s Ark. It was basically a fun house through which you walked while being confronted by weird, funny or scary scenes. Part of the Ark was lit only by a “black light”. Basically, an ultraviolet light that only lit up things that were fluorescent or white. If you wore a white shirt, you were lit up big time. Your smile was eerily very white. But the rest of you was dark. Your skin did not shine, your non-white clothing would look dark and colorless. It was cool. But as soon as you left that room, all the normal colors returned. What you saw depended on the light that was shined on it. That is what Jesus is talking about in this text.
Frist you need to read it carefully. What Jesus is saying is that the light that allows you to see the world comes from your eyes. This is what most cultures in Jesus’ day believed. The eyes are the lamp that lights up the world. So, the way you perceive the world depends on the kind of light that comes out of your eyes. And the source of that light is within you. Jesus is saying that the world will appear to according to your light. If you have “healthy” eyes – good eyes – the world will appear beautiful and appealing. If you have “unhealthy” eyes – evil eyes – the world will appear distorted. How the world appears to you depends on what is inside you. What is inside you? Is it focused on worldly desires or thoughts? Then that “black light” will distort reality. If your focus is on God, the bright light will let you see the reality of God’s good creation. How do you make sure your inward light is good and not evil? Look to God.
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John McMillan Presbyterian Church
