You can listen to them all once-thru on lala:

—————-

MAY THE LOVE OF GOD SHINE UPON YOU

These words of Jesus touch my soul: “Be not therefore anxious, saying, what shall we eat?  Or what shall we drink?  Or how shall we be clothed?  For after all these things do the Gentiles seek” (Matthew 6:31–32).

Jesus is warning about the heathen tendency to worry.  He tells us that worry – over our job, our family, our future, our survival – is a heathen’s way of living.  It is the attitude of those who have no heavenly Father.  They do not know God as he desires to be known: as a caring, providing, loving Father in heaven.  To all who believe, it is not enough to know God only as the Almighty, the Creator, the Lord of all.  He also wants us to know him as our heavenly Father. “For your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things” (verse 32).

“Take therefore no thought for tomorrow” (verse 34).  With these plain words, Jesus commands us: “Do not give a thought, a single worry, to what might or might not happen tomorrow.  You can’t change anything.  And you can’t help anything by worrying.  When you do, you’re only doing as the heathen do.”

Jesus then says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (verse 33).  In other words, we are to go on loving Jesus.  We are to move on, casting all our cares on him.  And we are to rest in his faithfulness.  Our heavenly Father will see to it that we are supplied with all the essential things of life.

I wonder if the angels are baffled by all the worry and anxiousness of those who claim to trust in the Lord.  To those celestial beings, it must seem insulting to God that we worry as if we had no caring Father in heaven.  What perplexing questions the angels must ask among themselves:

“Do they not believe the One who loves them?  Did he not tell them he knows about all their needs?  Do they not know the Father sends us to take charge of them in times of danger?  Do they not believe that he who feeds the birds, the fish, the whole animal kingdom will feed and clothe them?  How can they fret and worry when they know God possesses all power, all wealth, and can supply the needs of all creation?  How can they accuse their heavenly Father of neglect, as if he isn’t true to his Word?”

The birds sing, while we complain and speak of fear and anxiety.  The lilies of the field stand tall in their glory, while we wilt and bend before the smallest wind of adversity.  The following poem puts it succinctly:

The very birds reprove thee with all their happy song;

the very flowers teach thee that fretting is a wrong.

“Cheer up,” the sparrow chirpeth.  “Thy Father feedeth me;

think how much he careth, oh lovely child, for thee.”

“Fear not,” the flowers whisper; “since thus he hath arrayed

the buttercup and daisy.  How canst thou be afraid?”

Then don’t you trouble, till trouble troubles you.

You’ll only double trouble, and trouble others too.

You most definitely have a heavenly Father.  Trust in him!

This is a good one:

Much better to be silly in praise than to be fitting in with the typical complaining and bitterness

It is so easy to slip into the regular way to live — but why — when Jesus calls us to “follow him” and leave behind our worries — I worry when it does me no good but just adds stress to the day.

“Come away with me my love” “Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest.” “Abide in my love” “Your heavenly Father knows you need all those things” … 

Cast your cares. Cast. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cast. Throw, fling, part with, shed, drop. Why? Because God cares for you. The important part is they are now his, and you no longer to carry them.

The world says it is irresponsible to not worry, but in the Kingdom it is irresponsible to keep stuff to yourself and not give it to God. Matthew 6:25–43

Also read Song of Soloman 2ish, like the rest of God:

¹⁰ My beloved spoke, and said to me:

“ Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
¹¹ For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
¹² The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
¹³ The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!

We’re invited to cast away whatever hinders us, whatever we think is important, and be with Jesus, abide in his love.

this is the Lauren that I am loving

Our short stay on earth isn’t something we have to conquer and hold in our hands. God holds US in HIS hands, and he knows our frame, and he knows our path… and he plans our life, how then can I even think to comprehend or weigh each days significance? But I know I am significant: he loves me and calls me by name.

Need to here the above, otherwise you’ll find me crying in self-pity over the smallest of inconveniences.

——-

I wrote that in a recent email, and found it so encouraging to myself I had to share. ~sam

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Just want to stop here for a moment. This is Father’s discipline. He prunes those that bear fruit… just like he disciplines his Children (Hebrews 12)

I was going to blog further on abiding in Jesus… but I just watched videos on pruning grape vines and learned that pruning means cutting the little shoots back to the old-growth trunk. I had imagined it differently. And this pruning is what I’m dwelling on today.

Romans 11:19–24

19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? 25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

You don’t want God’s severity! Have Faith! Don’t become haughty, but fear! Continue in his kindness!

Consider Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians:

Isaiah 40:29–31. See how it applies to me?

He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

But I love the promises in it too!

And Isaiah 41:18–20:

18 I will open rivers in desolate heights,
And fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land springs of water.
19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree,
The myrtle and the oil tree;
I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine
And the box tree together,
20 That they may see and know,
And consider and understand together,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

What seems impossible to man, is possible to God.