ESOCS Devotional 30 August 2023 – God Can Do Anything For Us
MEMORY VERSE: “and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the kingdom of God your primary concern.” Matthew 6:33 NLT
TEXT: MATTHEW 6:24-34 (KJV)
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
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?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
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?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
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.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
It is like a partnership in business. The parties in the business have different responsibilities. Each does his own part adequately so that the business can thrive and succeed. If one party fails to play his necessary roles, problems would spring up that would affect everything. Things would not work out as planned originally. The business would suffer loss. This is exactly what happens in the relationship between our God and us.
God set up a business from the beginning of things and called us into partnership. He clearly outlined the responsibilities. He has always done His part in the arrangement. The problem has always been us. The expected end in the business is that it would be well with us in all areas of life and He would receive His praise and glory. However, we have consistently worked against these expected results. We seem to actually fight against it!
The scripture says, “…he will give [us] all [we] need from day to day if [we] live for him and make the kingdom of God [our] primary concern.” Our responsibilities are just two: to live for Him and desire His kingdom. It simply means that laws and commandments should govern our lives. His word should rule our hearts and minds. We should continually meditate on His word and practise it. We should always desire the things of heaven and despise the things and pleasures of this present world. In other words, we should make Him our priority and friend; and turn our backs against the world. When we do just those two things, He will fulfill His own part of the bargain. He will meet every need we may have; and make our lives most pleasurable.
If we discipline ourselves enough, we would be able to fulfill our part of the bargain. We can do this by filtering our desires and the things we do and align ourselves with what Christ would approve and practise. We should kill in us anything we know that displeases God. We should be mindful of the kind of friends we keep; the kind of places we go; the kind of associations we align ourselves with; and the kind of interests we develop and maintain. These indices would truly show whether we have decided to discipline ourselves enough to fulfill our part of the bargain.
- Make a list of your friends and filter out those that do not fit into the lifestyle of Christ.
- Examine your life and find out if you have fulfilled your part of the bargain.
- If not, what steps would you apply to correct your past mistakes?
- Pray that the Holy Spirit may help you do the things that are right in the sight of God.
- Pray that God may grant you the grace to run the Christian race successfully.
FURTHER READING: Proverbs 4:1-end; Nahum 3:1-end; Luke 14:1-11; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
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ESOCS Devotional 30 August 2023
