Grains of Sand

Pixabay Complaining was one of the many negative character qualities of the children of Israel. They weren’t that long out of Egypt—accompanied by many HUGE miracles that attested to God’s provision for them—when they were grumbling about the “room service”. Several times food and water were the issues. But though God could have avoided the conflict, He didn’t, preferring to test the faith of His people and to teach them valuable lessons about that faith. He let them go hungry for a reason. In Deuteronomy 8:3, Moses speaks these words to the people: “ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord ”. So important was this lesson that Jesus used the latter part of the verse in His contest with Satan in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:4) The children of Israel must have wondered about the application of the les...

Pixabay At any given time, someone needs this invitation from Scripture: “ Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest ” (Matthew 11:28). It’s not that the Lord is telling us to happily assign ourselves to the “couch of potato” because what follows after this initial invitation belies that. We have to keep going. We can’t renounce the world and all the events and circumstances and people that seem so often to add brick and timber to our already heavy loads. But we need to learn not to assume responsibility for what is not ours. What do I do about this? How am I going to get that done? Where does this need to go? When can I fit this in? How will I accomplish that? What will I do if…? The burden we are asked to carry is often not the one we are presently trying to carry. He tells us “ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light ” (vss. 29, 3...

Google Images Material possessions and worry go together like cheese and crackers. The second half of Matthew 6 deals with both. From verses 19 to 24, the Lord warns His listeners not to focus on gaining stuff that can be stolen, or destroyed. Rather, we are to work to gain what is eternal. “ ...store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do no break in and steal ” (vs. 20). Why is that important? Verse 21 nails that down: “ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also .” Our hearts and minds need to be directed toward those things that matter most to God. To focus elsewhere is to be blind, to be “in the dark” (vss 22, 23). We are then told that a choice has to be made. We have to decide to direct our attention to the things that matter to God or to concentrate on the stuff that will eventually be destroyed. We can’t do both (vs. 24). God isn’t just one of many priorities in our lives—He is THE priority. But it i...