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Scripture Text is Matthew 6:25 “Therefore, I tell you, don’t worry about your life — what you will eat or drink; or about your body — what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds flying about! They neither plant nor harvest, nor do they gather food into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they are? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to his life?
28 “And why be anxious about clothing? Think about the fields of wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread, 29 yet I tell you that not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these. 30 If this is how God clothes grass in the field — which is here today and gone tomorrow, thrown in an oven — won’t he much more clothe you? What little trust you have!
31 “So don’t be anxious, asking, ‘What will we eat?,’ ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘How will we be clothed?’ 32 For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. 33 But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Don’t worry about tomorrow — tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough tsuris already!
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John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for Matthew 6:25-34
Verse 25
[25] Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
And if you serve God, you need be careful for nothing.
Therefore take not thought — That is, be not anxiously careful. Beware of worldly cares; for these are as inconsistent with the true service of God as worldly desires.
Is not the life more than meat? — And if God give the greater gift, will he deny the smaller? Luke 12:22.
Verse 27
[27] Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
And which of you — If you are ever so careful, can even add a moment to your own life thereby? This seems to be far the most easy and natural sense of the words.
Verse 29
[29] And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these — Not in garments of so pure a white. The eastern monarchs were often clothed in white robes.
Verse 30
[30] Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
The grass of the field — is a general expression, including both herbs and flowers.
Into the still — This is the natural sense of the passage. For it can hardly be supposed that grass or flowers should be thrown into the oven the day after they were cut down. Neither is it the custom in the hottest countries, where they dry fastest, to heat ovens with them.
If God so clothe — The word properly implies, the putting on a complete dress, that surrounds the body on all sides; and beautifully expresses that external membrane, which (like the skin in a human body) at once adorns the tender fabric of the vegetable, and guards it from the injuries of the weather. Every microscope in which a flower is viewed gives a lively comment on this text.
Verse 31
[31] Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Therefore take not thought — How kind are these precepts! The substance of which is only this, Do thyself no harm! Let us not be so ungrateful to him, nor so injurious to ourselves, as to harass and oppress our minds with that burden of anxiety, which he has so graciously taken off. Every verse speaks at once to the understanding, and to the heart. We will not therefore indulge these unnecessary, these useless, these mischievous cares. We will not borrow the anxieties and distresses of the morrow, to aggravate those of the present day. Rather we will cheerfully repose ourselves on that heavenly Father, who knows we have need of these things; who has given us the life, which is more than meat, and the body, which is more than raiment. And thus instructed in the philosophy of our heavenly Master, we will learn a lesson of faith and cheer. fulness from every bird of the air, and every flower of the field.
Verse 33
[33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness — Singly aim at this, that God, reigning in your heart, may fill it with the righteousness above described. And indeed whosoever seeks this first, will soon come to seek this only.
Verse 34
[34] Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
The morrow shall take thought for itself — That is, he careful for the morrow when it comes.
The evil thereof — Speaking after the manner of men. But all trouble is, upon the whole, a real good. It is good physic which God dispenses daily to his children, according to the need and the strength of each.
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Daily Devotionals
Monday, August 1, 2016
Text to read: Matthew 6:25-34
- Read the entire text.
- Sum up Jesus’ teaching on worry in one sentence.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Text to read: Matthew 6:25-34
- What prevents us from becoming too passive in supporting our own needs?
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Text to read: Matthew 6:25-34
- Write Matthew 6:33 in your own words.[God says that we should seek Him and His Rulership first then He will give all we need to live holy lives in this world and the next.]
- What new meaning is there?
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Text to read: Matthew 6:25-34
- Meditate on this text focusing on the images and visions.
- What do you see?
Friday, August 5, 2016
Text to read: Matthew 6:25-34
- What can we learn from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:34?
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Text to read: Matthew 6:25-34
- How are we to be careful in supplying our own needs?
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Text to read: Matthew 6:25-34
- Pray for all those lost in greed and hunger for power.
First United Methodist Church
2111 Camino Del Rio South
San Diego, California 92108, United States
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