Healing...a rampage of things unseen (a mobile update)

Healing: become sound, healthy, cured....made right (again).

I remember sitting in the hospital room next to my mom when her heart began racing due to complications from Diabetes. She told me, in a panic, "I'm not breathing good!" Then as we yelled for help and teams of people rushed in her room...I was swept away in the action. Left to sound the alarms with family and pray to God for healing. I did just that - prayed. My mom died within the next hour.

When Jesus walked the Earth, there were constantly people following him. There was controversy, drama, teaching, and healing....there was more really. A lot more. I have camped out in the book of Mathew lately in my time alone with the Lord. It has been rich for me to take a renewed look at the life of Christ.

here is today:

Matthew 9:18-34 ESV

While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district. And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David." When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, "See that no one knows about it." But they went away and spread his fame through all that district. As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons."

Matthew 9:35-36 ESV

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Watching Jesus interact with man has been something else. It feels like He didn't turn anyone down. It feels like He restored all those who were asking...their hearts were aimed at Him and they believed in whom they were asking. They trusted in the provisions of God via the Son of God. I would do well to live in this same manner. Jesus touched. Jesus looked. Stared into pupils. Grasped ahold of hands and faces...He embraced people and spoke of the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus called people to live in a new way and be different; perfect like the Father in Heaven...by devoting to the Son one's life and living in the statutes of God.

Still, more controversy and more wounded individuals would flock around this God-man. Jesus continued His compassion. It blows me away...it was as if He was on a rampage! He healed illnesses and disease and cast out evil like it was His job!! You think? He lived and breathed out of the overflow of His intimacy and relationship and will of God the Father in Heaven. They are one...the Trinity, Father. Son. Holy Spirit. Together they created this uproar of attention that would forever change the scope of a relationship and interaction with God.

When I was praying for my mom to be healed, I had this vision in my mind: Jesus was in the room with my mom, she was standing next to Him...looking back on her body...they were smiling. Healed. Not my way..His. Within minutes of this vision..the team of doctors came out to pronounce my mom dead. Yet, she was now more alive than ever before!

Life to the fullest...that is the promise of Jesus.

He delivers ...to the full.

May we take another look and hand over our hearts to the author of Life.Amen.

Blessings,

-ao

Pursuit of kids…

 

This was a video done by our church to show Young Life’s heart for kids and capture the picture of pursuing kids via friendship evangelism. The art of friendship and commitment in the lives of our high school friends.

…enjoy!

 

Sharing not only the gospel, but our lives as well.

 

www.younglife.org

Blessings,

-ao

What’s so Astonishing? People were shaking in their boots…

 

So, today, I keep having this thought in my mind – that notion of what, exactly, is it…what was it about Jesus Christ that was just so amazing? What was it that was so scary and so “astonishing” – I don’t know that this word always implies that those around him were eternally impressed as much as they were shaking in their boots – speechless. To watch this man, fully God, and fully man – interact on Earth and communicate the love of God….and push people internally to their limits where they are standing face to face with God and looking into the mirrors of their souls….and handing over their hearts to Jesus. This must have been a sight. It must have been awe inspiring. I would have freaked out. Maybe I still do.

Dead made alive. Freakshows made anew and normal. Prostitutes made whole. Hellions changed-trajectoried lives. Wounded healed. Lying, cussing sailors committing their lives to this man and “his teachings”. Something about him seems so odd – so peculiar, so mysterious yet so amazingly attractive.

I may pick up on this thought again later….I have been sitting with it this a.m. since coming from (in Mathew 8) Jesus crossing the lake to escape crowds and teach His disciples and having told them about who He is and healing illnesses and speaking of true faith and being a good man (Centurion) and what does Jesus truly desire? He spoke of ‘mercy, not sacrifice’. Then, he told Mathew, “Follow Me”.  This was after the demon-possessed man was cured from Legion. This was just before a group of friends were brave enough to trail Jesus and His disciples one more time to hear what He had to say….and bring their paralyzed friend to the feet of the Lord. Except there was so much more – obstacles, people, challenges…and another message from the Lord.

Again – astonished. People were amazed. Probably freaked out and yet so abundantly desiring to take a gander into their own lives they didn’t know what to do with themselves. Messiah? Yup. Their idea…nope. He just seems like something else.

What if you took a fresh look at Jesus? What if you read the “gospels” and renewed whatever outlook you have on this man they called Jesus? Would you be astonished?

I’m shaking in my boots…..and when I sit in His word, time stands still and the Lord begins to shape and mold the insides of me like I were his all along. No wonder He is who He is. I am His.

…more later…

Blessings,

-ao

The Future of R & D Departments

This guy is Mr. Creativity.

What if you knew the many, the wretched in me…

 

Sometimes, when I sit with my high school friends, I talk about the old me. The guy before I encountered Jesus Christ. The one who still lives within, lurking around and potentially threatening to break into all I am now and have done all I can do to cast away. The old guy – the one who was cast away – he would be a wretched man. Truth is, Jesus, alive in me – cast out that other person. I am made new; 2 Corinthians 5:17.

But, what was I like? What would I BE like today? What if this old me were living and walking and hadn’t encountered the living God? What if I was held down and tied to chains and wounded myself all the time – crying out for help and for other things in the name of rage and hopelessness? I would be kind of like this guy I read about this a.m. He was a man who had been wounded for many years, demon possessed and living among the dead – lifelessness and darkness all around him. He was a total outcast. He couldn’t be kept within reason, he hurt himself and probably others. He was a man controlled by evil and rages that come from all places dark. He came across the man named Jesus after He had been teaching the disciples about faith and following him, the cost of being a follower of Christ and dedicating their lives to the Holy God. He had spoken scripture to further communicate His coming to bore our diseases; He came to bear our Sin – this God-separating filth that keeps me from connection to God and His Kingdom apart from intimacy with Jesus. Saying ‘yes’ to the Son of God. Access to Him.

The demon-possessed man saw Jesus and His disciples approaching from their boats at the shore. The man couldn’t be messed with – no one would get near him and he cried out to Jesus with the voice of many….asking “What is it that you would do with us?” His name was “Legion”, meaning “many”.

Here it goes:

“Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon 5 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.[N] 2And when Jesus[O] had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea. 14The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15And they came to Jesus and saw the demon–possessed[P] man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon–possessed man and to the pigs. 17And they began to beg Jesus[Q] to depart from their region. 18As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.”

-Mark 5:1-20 (ESV) {Just1word}

 

"And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon–possessed men. 34And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.”

-Mathew 8:32-34 (ESV) (emphasis, mine)

I was thinking about the old me and my ways of old. Wretched. Dirty. Ungodly. One who would not be worth much, on the inside. I tell my friends how I would not be pursuing things of God’s nature – but I would be so much different than I am, now. Not much different, really – just covered by the infinite love of God and my whole trajectory has been renewed and changed because of God’s pursuit of me. I am made knew. I walked around in a cemetery and begged and was wounded and wanted to cry out. I saw the face of the Lord and asked “what will you do with me?” – He sent the old me into a herd of pigs….he sent the old me to be cast out and tormented apart from me – forever. That is to say He took my Sin away…from me that I might never see it again – separated as far as the East is from the West. Never will they, my Sin and myself, meet again.

Those who saw Jesus heal this man and tell these demons where they could go and command with God-given authority, they ran into town to tell all what they saw. They were astonished. They pleaded with Jesus to leave. Why? Why would they want God’s Son to leave? Why, if after something so good and powerful would they want him gone?

Was it the change? Was it their reputation? Was it the thousands of pigs rotting in the waters of the sea nearby? I wonder if they were so ruffled by the power of God they didn’t know which way to look or go? I know how that feels? I have watched people encounter Jesus and call out to Him out of amazement of who He is and who they want Him to be in their lives…yet upon returning to their home-lives they can’t fathom a life with Christ because what they saw didn’t connect in their hearts….they still want to run – yet they still desire this life change and eternal peace offered by Jesus. Maybe you can relate…..a desire to connect with God and a desire to run from God in the same.

The man who had been cured from the evil in him approached Jesus and asked to go with Him. Jesus asked him to go and tell. Go, tell….about the mercy of God. Go and tell others about how God didn’t give what was deserved…..MERCY. Others marveled at this mercy of God.

What do you deserve? What is your life like? I deserve much worse. I remember the man lurking in the darkness looking to wound myself and others beyond what I could really control. Possessed by the darkness and roaming aimlessly to what?  A life that did not point anywhere to God. Emptiness. DEATH.

Jesus set me free. I would do well to remember this man who fled into pigs to run to their death. To remember that Jesus calls me to life. He permits these others to be around me but those are not me – He is my life. He calls me to Himself. That is peace. That is Hope. That is my life. Thanks be to God for being in my life and allowing me to marvel at His goodness.

My friend, Ryan, sings a song called, “Change Me”. I am different forever and ever because of those words. Jesus. Changed. Me.

Blessings,

-ao

The faith of a man…a leader no doubt

 

I have a friend in my life who loves alcohol. He loves to drink. He hates it, too. He wishes he had never began doing the dreaded thing of filling his body with what poisons his insides and his intentions. He smokes cigarettes every day. His wife died a few years back and she was his “everything”. He owns his business and has remained in the same industry for 35 years. Success has knocked on his door multitudes of times. Money has come and gone….been there and been squandered. Leadership skills have abounded from this man. He has been a legend within his arena of life. He has seen joy that oozes through the pores of life. Somehow, he has never felt as though he found life as it was intended – only tasted the crumbs of what is so really good.

A couple months back, he had open heart surgery. We talked in the hospital and discussed his condition, his life, and his future. I told him about the time he told me about God and how “He doesn’t want anything to do with me…” as were were standing on the street shortly after the graveside service of his granddaughter. He said everything in life was messed up and that life really had no answers…only questions that do not get answered. He said it in a bit more colorful language than that. We decided to get together from time to time and pick up where we left off that day at the cemetery. Here and there we have met. Here and there we have talked, but my friend is only more wounded now than before. A man. A friend. A leader. A father. Abandoned in this life. Denying the inside emotions for the outside and physical appearance of control and economic gain. He works emphatically. Work is his life.

Recently, he stopped getting emails from his daughter-in-law. They weren’t necessarily regular or not even had they stopped – the thing about these semi regular emails was their content. They were notes of encouragement, scripture quotes with little pieces of hope. Notes of light. References to the Light of the World. Offering life in the midst of this….offering a true answer…he talked about life with its questions but there is no response to those questions – there is one Man. His name is Jesus. My friend is confused. He is lost. He would deny this truth. He asked his son recently, “Why did the emails with bible verses stop?  Does she not love me anymore….what’s going on?” His son was blown away. His son was also holding on to the promises of God and how, when a man who doesn’t believe in God or His Son, stops receiving God’s word in his inbox – he asks “what happened!” and wonders about being cared for. This is worth pondering what is going on in his heart and probably yours and my heart, too. In my time alone with the Lord today this is what happened:

Today, in my time w/the Lord.

“When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2And behold, a leper[B] came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3And Jesus[C] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” The Faith of a Centurion 5When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant,[D] ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel[E] have I found such faith. 11I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. Jesus Heals Many 14And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother–in–law lying sick with a fever. 15He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Mathew 8:1-17

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV

Leprosy. Shriveled hands. Hindrances abounding. Doubt in life. Illnesses. Headaches. Distractions. It all sinks in as we go about in our lives. Yet, Jesus enters the life of the Leper and willingly stretches out his hand to tell him He is willing to heal and that he is in fact healed. Then he commands his life to reflect a life of a Godly man. The centurion. A leader. A soldier. A man who has warned his scars and taken orders to gain the right to command orders. “Leadership is recognized, not appointed”, I was once told. No doubt this man, the centurion, had earned his position to be able to command others in the ranks. He was the unlikely believer. The man whom others would have said he will not trust in and believe in God. He will not follow the Way of Jesus Christ. He is ungodly. He represents Rome and destruction of the innocent. He is about the “justice” of the government. He is a strong man with no hope in God. Yet, here we get to watch this leader of a wounded man approach the God of the universe and request his healing power. The man had great faith! Faith in the Son of God to communicate that Jesus has the authority to heal and provide and command God’s statutes and offer infinite grace by His presence alone. His words would do.

Jesus used this man’s faith as an example of how my faith ought to be – strong, true-believing and with the confidence of God my Father in Heaven. Then Jesus healed the man’s servant and went to see Peter. He walked in Peter’s home and immediately went to Peter’s wife’s mother. She had been sick. Jesus healed her and she began serving them. A powerful picture of being compelled by the love of God to…..go. In His name.

Sickness borne. He bore all of them. What was the life of Christ? Love. A becoming of all we are at our core in order for us to be all God is in His core!!  Righteous. Forever. And ever. Amen.

I wonder about the “faith” of my friend. I wonder about his “potential” as the centurion man. I wonder about his leadership. I wish he knew Jesus. I bet, somewhere deep within, he feels like there is an answer in this life. Yup, there really is an answer. He is the Lord of my life and apart from my faith in Christ – I would be viewed just like my friend. We are a lot alike, really. We are miles apart, too. The difference is I belong to God because of Jesus Christ. I am His, forever. Maybe the faith of this centurion can impact my friend….and you, and me – over and over. His peace.

 

Blessings,

-ao

Posted link to the book - Learning to Fly

I added the link to the book over on the left side of this blog. If you would rather order it through a site you might be more familiar with it is also available on www.amazon.com go here.

Thanks, happy reading.

Blessings,

-ao

Response to Jesus

Matthew 7:15-29 NIV84

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."

From today, in His word.

Help me, Jesus...

-to be healthy, bearing good (not diseased) fruit.

-for my fruit to be glorifying you-in everything.

-to know you deeply.truly.infinitely.intimately.full-of-trust. always. now.

-call out to you on this day, looking for you, believing in you.

-live out my hope in you & your words.

-paint scripture upon my heart & my home...my family, too!

-Being a DOER of your teachings. Everyday, Lord.

I am yours,

-Amen

Blessings,

-ao


Ps-here is a verse from Thessalonians...has been good for me this summer.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NIV84

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

A few glimpses at my summer…

 

Here is a look on a here-and-there basis of some adventures, experiences and quick shots of my summer, thus far. I have spent some time trying to rest and reload, a bit. I have been flying under the radar and attempting to live in a rhythm of being with Jesus and being with family…and anything else comes after those. It’s out of the feelings of realizing, after ten years of full-time ministry in our community I felt as though I longed for some rest – a breath of air, a sabbatical-like opportunity. Here are some sites:

After many promises of playing in the rain – we finally got our boots on and ran out one morning to play in the rain and splash in the puddles.

A tired little Boone loving on Mommy.

 

We went fishing one day at a friend’s pond. Wyatt caught six fish, Boone caught three or four! We had a blast, they were cashed and sweat bee sting-ridden. We looked back, remembering the fish, the horses, and the bond we have – a deep rooted father-son friendship that is forever. Love these dudes…love our good times.

A smelly bathroom is no fun. Replaced the wax seal…..wah lah! No more smell. Felt like I was a handy-man. Maybe I am.

Kyds Workshop at The Home Depot. They helped me to be a better dad on this day – I loved working with the boys at the HD. We made a coaster set, got their own aprons, pins, and walked around the store like they owned the place! Loved it.

 

I took Wyatt exploring on a day hike. We found this baby bird. We got to pet it, too. Then we came across the praying mantis…. or as Wyatt says, the “Praying Man” bug.

Working on another project with Daddy! Boone pulls another plant out of the ground….he has a habit of doing this. He then screams loudly, “Look, Daddy….a raddish!!!” We now do time-outs for pulling plants! He’s a hoot.

Here’s my family!! Wyatt, Boone, Olivia, and Baby O!!! See her, she’s in the “O”! j/k. Well, she is in there…..

 

We have enjoyed our summer. I have enjoyed my time with Jesus. I have sat on my back porch and soaked in the goodness of the Lord. I have sat in our rocking chairs with Olivia and had glasses of tea and moments of laughter, flirting, and looking forward, glancing back in our lives. It has been sweet and tender all together. We look ahead to the wonder and chaos of another baby, another busy season with ministry, kids, and the details in the middle. I feel so grateful, so honored, so blessed and yet have felt so blurry on some days. I am thankful for clarity from the Lord – to seek His Kingdom and HIs righteousness….and then these things will be given (food, drink, clothing)! –Mathew 6:33

 

Today’s scripture: Mathew 6:9-34…..

 

6"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.[C]’ 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Fasting 16“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Treasures in Heaven 19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Do Not Worry 25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[D]? 28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 

Blessings,

-ao