Jesus continued to speak to us about things going on in our mind:
Matthew 6
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 7
Do Not Judge
7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
My thoughts:
Jesus talked about matters of the mind here. Worry and a judgmental attitude come from our mind. We are naturally flesh and see things from a flesh perspective. We are all born in sin and we all see the world through these fleshly eyes we have. We see and know that may not have enough. We see and know that we struggle and have to work hard for all we have. We see and know with our mind.
We need to mind of Christ to see with our spiritual eyes and know the things of God.
When Jesus sent out his disciples in Matthew chapter 10 he told them, "9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food." They took nothing but his assurance that all the natural needs would be met. They had provisions from God alone. They went out and preached, healed and ministered to those in need with nothing of their own. God prepared and provided the way.
Do we try to provide all we need and want without God's help? I often think maybe I have it wrong when I always try to find a way to meet my own financial concerns without even realizing that I have so much more than most people in the world. I am not rich by American standards, but when compared to most of the world, I am wealthy indeed. I really have need of nothing. I am so grateful and thankful, but I think I often pray more about things I want mistaking them for needs. Help me Lord, to recognize my needs versus my wants and really know that I have nothing without you. Please help not be like the rich ruler who was unwilling to sell all he had to follow you.
The second part of this is about looking at others before examining ourselves. I think many people get so caught up in the concerning themselves with what others are doing, we forget we are to be conscious of our own hearts, lives and relationship with Christ first and foremost. Philippians 2:12 says Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
We need to concern ourselves with our own salvation, our own walk, our own relationship before deciding how others are doing.
I have, unfortunately, come across many people who refuse to go to church, blast or defame christians and the body of Christ and are accusatory of those who call themselves christians. This is sad to me. I look at the words they use, the accusations they make of there being too many hypocrites in church, etc and recognize that many of the things that they say come from a heart that has been hurt by someone who failed them or disappointed them in some way. Unfortunately, I think many of these folks do not recognize that christians are just human beings trying to live right and seek after God, but still make mistakes. To judge and write off someone because of their mistakes without recognizing that we are all saved by the blood of Jesus is not pleasing to God. I find many of these folks hold onto the bitterness and hurt and do not recognize this fact in their own heart and mind. It is always someone else to blame. If someone did wrong to us, we still must find a way to apply forgiveness and move on. Bitterness and hurt only chain us down from living the life God intends for us. Hebrews 12:15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;
Lets examine our own thinking, our own hearts through the mirror of His word so we can be clean and pure before Christ.
Romans 8:5-6 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Let's set our minds on the things of God and not be focused on the concerns of this life or what everyone else is doing. Let's focus solely on Jesus. Just as Peter could walk on water when he set his eyes on Jesus, we can walk with Christ when our mind is focused on Him. We only sink when we get our minds off of Him.
Questions:
Do I spend more time worrying that trusting?
Do I worry about what others are doing and thinking rather than Jesus?
What changes do I need to make in my thoughts today?
God bless and please add any comments or help for me and others. There is a lot in the bible about these topics so add what you find.
When we judge someone we don't really know their heart. God looks at the heart, man looks at the outward appearance. We don't know what we'd do if we were in their situation. They need understanding. They need Jesus. Jesus may want to speak to them through us. He loves them and we need to love them.
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