Charles Spurgeon: “Observation shows us that there is a fascination in wealth which renders it extremely difficult for the possessors of it to maintain their equilibrium; and this is more especially the case where money is suddenly acquired; then, unless grace prevent, pride fumes, and he who is respectable in poverty, becomes despicable in prosperity. Pride may lurk under a threadbare cloak, but it prefers the comely broadcloth of the merchant’s cloak: moths will eat any of our garments, but they seem to fly first to the costly furs.”
Luke 12:22-23
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8
BEWARE OF THE TYRANNY OF THINGS.
ANXIETY PREVENTS US FROM BEING FOCUSED ENTIRELY ON GOD.
- Verse 22…do not be anxious.
- Verse 29…nor be worried.
- Verse 32…fear not.
“Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.”
Philippians 4:4-7: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Charles Spurgeon captures it this way: “Now, if in any future day the shadow of a disaster should cross your path, and you should be in fear that your beloved ones are lost, I pray you, if you are Christian people, exercise faith at such a time, and stay yourselves upon God. Recollect, if you become so anxious as to lose your clearness of mind, you will not be fit for the emergency. It may be that by retaining calmness of soul you will be of service; but by giving up the very helm of your mind, and allowing yourself to drift before the torrent of anxiety, you will become useless and helpless. In patience possess your souls. The world is in God’s hand after all.”
Luke 12:24-26
Leviticus 11:13-15
Charles Spurgeon: “If there are any of you in great trouble, I would like to remind you of this fact, that faith in Jesus is the best cure for every care, the best balm for every wound. Get you away to Jesus; at the foot of his cross is the best place for mourners. All our other sorrows die where Jesus’s sorrows are revealed. Faith in Christ is what you need beyond everything else”
Let us pray: WE THANK YOU, FATHER , FOR THE FACT THAT WE CAN LIVE FREE OF ANXIETY…FREE OF STRESS…FREE OF WORRY…AND FREE OF FEAR…BECAUSE OUR LIVES ARE COMPLETELY IN YOUR CARE. FILL US WITH JOY AND GRATITUDE. IN THE NAME OF OUR RISEN LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. AMEN.