Though we're bombarded with frightening news, our Lord and Master reminded us of the Father's care in Matthew 6:25 (BBE). "So I say to you, Take no thought for your life, about food or drink, or about clothing for your body. Is not life more than food, and the body more than its clothing?"
Likewise the Apostle Paul knew on whom he depended. That's why he reminded his beloved saints in Philippians 4:19 (BBE) to trust in the Lord, "And my God will give you all you have need of from the wealth of his glory in Christ Jesus."
I know from personal experience that it's easy to quote scriptures but hard to live them. Even so, the author who wrote Hebrews 13:5 (BBE) said, "Be free from the love of money and pleased with the things which you have; for he himself has said, 'I will be with you at all times.'"
Of course some folks can be inconsiderate when parroting Bible passages. A certain church elder angered me whenever she quoted Psalms 37:25 (BBE) at me when I had no money for food. "I have been young, and now am old, but I have not seen the good man without help, or his children looking for bread."The church I attended also gave me twenty-one-year-old jam and a tin of spinach from 1957. The jam wasn't bad but I refused to eat that spinach, fearing botulism. Even so, I survived.
As a consequence of poor counsel, God seemed stingy to me. Nobody back in the seventies taught me about the Father's sovereignty and providential provision for his children. That errant congregation treated the Father like a vending machine which used faith as its coinage. I know better now and I praise God for whatever happens. I know it's for his glory and the strengthening of my trust in him.
I hope you are staying safe and well fed these days, Bruce! Thank you for your faithful contributions to this blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like what I'm posting. And as far as this house arrest we're all under, it's an opportunity to get writing done. The only thing I miss is shopping in person. But people have been quite kind, even bringing me food like one lady did this morning.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, that picture of a deer with a bird cleaning bugs out of her coat is a screen grab from a BBC documentary on wildlife in the city. What a nice relationship those two animals have. She gets the bugs out of her fur and the bird gets a full tummy.
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