March 4 - Give to the Poor

Luke 12:32-34

The world is full of people with fears.

Some of us fear pain. So we collect means of safety and security.

Some of us fear insignificance. So we collect opportunities for meaningful contribution to the world.

Some of us fear worthlessness.  So we collect achievements and accolades.

Any threat to our collections is, in essence, a threat to our existence.

These things we collect are not evil in and of themselves. And yet, everything on earth fades, rusts, and decays. There is nothing on earth we can collect that will give everlasting security, meaning, or worth to us, and when we count on them to do so, we will do anything possible to hold on to them—often at the expense of other souls dearly loved by God.

How beautiful these words from Jesus as he reassures us not to be afraid, “for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom”! Where God rules and reigns, there is meaning, there is peace, there is justice, there is flourishing, and there is wholeness.

In God’s kingdom we are safe, we are ascribed worth & meaning, and we are loved. This means that we are free to give away our little collections without giving way to our fears, because every fear is stilled in God’s presence, and our greater inheritance of a kingdom of goodness, justice, peace, and wholeness was secured by the blood of the cross.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Chosen and hand picked by God

"The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be is people, his treasured possession." (Deuteronomy 7:6)

One of my greatest fears in school was being overlooked. When gym class played a team sport and the captains would choose their stars, those people who would carry the team to victory, I was pretty certain I would not be one of them. Many of us remember, and still today, feel the humiliation and pain of not being good enough.

Unfortunately, we often carry our inferior mindsets into our adult world. Most of us will grow out of this feeling of never being good enough; but some don't. Praise God I am a new creation. I know my short-comings, but more important, I know my strengths and I know who created me and made me who I am today. But, it wasn't always this way. I had to be renewed and transformed into a confident follower of Jesus.

Just to know I was chosen by God, to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ, is humbling beyond words. I may not have made the volleyball team, but I have been chosen. There are several clichés I could use here, but you get the idea. Once God got my attention through Renewal (Christ Renews His Parish) about 20 years ago, everything changed for me.

Now, it is my duty to see that I tell others about being chosen. It is time I share with all those who think the rejection of man has any weight in the Kingdom of God, that being chosen by God is all that matters. The Bible is full of stories of this, let's start pointing it out regularly, especially to those who desperately need to hear.
 
Deuteronomy 7:6-8

Treasures, Anxiety -- Matthew 6:19-34

I turned to my Bible to read today's text and I noticed two notes written in the margin; "Worry is ineffective," and "Worry is acting like a heathen."

The notation, "Worry is ineffective," makes sense to me because I am a person of action. "Don't talk about it, just do it,” is something I would say or think. My reasoning though, isn't spiritual. My reasoning is that I should be able to do anything; I never stop to turn it over to God. One of my problems is that I do not surrender and let God handle my worries.

"Worry is acting like a heathen," also speaks to me. During the difficult times we are living in now, with jobs being scarce and financing difficult to obtain, worry seems natural. The words, "So, do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' (Matthew 6:31)

So, how do we overcome this? How do we go to God with our fears? Practice.  Like most things we work to change and improve about ourselves, we have to practice. Sometimes I am halfway into a real good worry session when I remember God's charge to us 'not to worry'. Then I practice turning it over to Him. Eventually, practice will make perfect.

To read the text for today click here.