Seeking God’s Kingdom First
During His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was providing a series of instruction for His followers. At one point, He specifically addressed avoiding being anxious when He said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33).”
Jesus told us that we do not need to be stressed out about things happening in life. That we do not need to become overwhelmed by the cares of the world but need to put Jesus and His kingdom first and foremost in everything that we do.
That is great advice, but what exactly does that mean?
You Have Concerns
This passage begins with Jesus making the statement, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing (Matthew 6:25)?”
On first thought, you may think that this is rather callous of Him. After all, each one of us needs to eat and drink. It’s good to have clothing. We all have obligations. We all have things that we need to take care of, but Jesus seems to imply that these things don’t really matter. That if we just focus on God everything is going to be okay.
Each one of us has things to be concerned about. You have a mortgage for a home, maybe you have children who need to be fed, you have a job where duties need to be finished, and you have other obligations. When you find yourself lacking in any of these areas, unable to pay or meet the obligation, you may find yourself anxious, maybe even afraid.
It would seem natural to feel this way. When you do not have the things “necessary” to meet your obligations, you can easily become anxious. That is just natural.
Who Is Your God?
Honestly, Jesus is not telling you to ignore important aspects in your life. He is not asking you to believe that God is going to drop “manna from heaven” to feed and take care of you. He knows you need to feed yourself and your family. In no way is Jesus ignoring the realities of life.
Instead, what He is talking about is having faith in God and what He stands for. To seek after the things of God. He is calling us to a higher spiritual realm.
Many years ago, I was reading a book about Christian evangelist George Mueller. Mueller never asked his congregation for anything. Instead, he expected that God would motivate them to care for him and his wife. He recounted a story of when his wife and he had not been fed for a few days. It was near midnight when they began to pray, asking God to provide for them. About an hour later, there was a knock at the door and there stood the baker with loaves of bread and other food for them. The baker apologized profusely to Mueller and his wife, explaining that he was asleep when he was suddenly awakened and felt a need to rush to his pastor’s home with food.
Now, this is not a call to do nothing and let God provide. Instead, it is a call to rely on God and believe that He will deliver when you have needs. It is a call to focus your attention on the mission of God and to believe that you are part of that mission. That God will provide for your every need, whether it is through your own work or through the generosity and love of others.
It is also a call to be satisfied with the provision of God. In this passage, Jesus pointed out that the lilies of the field grow without anxiety. God provides sun light, water, and nutrients to ensure that the plants flourish. They do not ask for more sunshine or rain. They depend upon God to provide, and they are “thankful” for all that He does.
This is seeking first the kingdom of God. It is trusting that God will provide for you and, then, living a life of gratitude for all of the provision of God. After all, God never leaves you without the things you need. He always provides.
Hope CDA Is Trusting God!
This Thursday, October 2, at 6:00 p.m., Hope CDA will celebrate the righteousness of God. Our Fifth Annual Gala will celebrate the amazing ways that God is moving and how we rely on Him to provide for our success – success for both our men and our program.
We would love you to be a part of that celebration, but you have to act quickly. It is just a few days until the event, so please contact Dr. Pannier (rob.p@hopecdacr.org) if you would like to attend the event. We would love to have you there!
Hope Good News
José Trevino officially began the program on Friday evening. We are excited to have our brother join us and know that God will do amazing things with him… Detric Howell also joined the program, starting this last Wednesday. We pray for God to do an amazing transformation in his life as well… Steven Yarbrough started a new job this past week. Steve has joined several graduates working at RPS…. On Tuesday, Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffani O’Donnell declared a proclamation recognizing Hope CDA for its good work within the community. You can watch the event at the Cedar Rapids City Council page (The proclamation starts about 7:00 minutes into the meeting).
Prayers for the Week
We ask you to join in prayer for these things:
- For Jose and Detric as they begin the Hope CDA program. May God do amazing things in their lives.
- For the gala on Thursday. May it be an event that draws people closer to God and provides for the continued success of the program.
- For staff, participants, volunteers, graduates, and all others involved in the program. May they all recognize the contribution they are making to improving the lives of others while also being abundantly blessed by God.
- We also pray for Tim Ehlers, who has a court appearance on Monday. We pray that they would release our brother, allowing him to return to the program.
Tuesday Night Encouragement at Hope CDA
Just a reminder that the men are participating in the Alpha Course at Mission of Hope and will be there through the end of October. There will be no Night of Encouragement at the Hope Center until the first Tuesday of November.
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