Do Not Worry.

. . . do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on —Matthew 6:25

Jesus summed up commonsense carefulness in the life of a disciple as unbelief. If we have received the Spirit of God, He will squeeze right through our lives, as if to ask, “Now where do I come into this relationship, this vacation you have planned, or these new books you want to read?” And He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our first consideration. Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion.

“. . . do not worry about your life . . . .” Don’t take the pressure of your provision upon yourself. It is not only wrong to worry, it is unbelief; worrying means we do not believe that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never anything but those details that worry us. Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the Word He puts in us? Is it the devil? No— “the cares of this world” (Matthew 13:22). It is always our little worries. We say, “I will not trust when I cannot see”— and that is where unbelief begins. The only cure for unbelief is obedience to the Spirit.

The greatest word of Jesus to His disciples is abandon.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Wholly convicted, and utterly freed + inspired, by this devotional.  Hopeful for this summer, for the shedding of heavy burdens and ugly worries to be replaced by this sweet song: "the joy of the Lord is my strength". It is a PRIVILEGE to be weak, so counter-cultural, but therein lies the full power of THE one and only God, the Great I AM. Just as Arthur drew up the sword without his own strength, in faith and surrender, I am tasked to yield a sword bearing the promises & vision of eternity. To overcome every next difficult step without lifting but a finger. So can my heart and mind join together to believe in simplicity?

The "Christ Rose" - speckled as if with His blood - at the Mt. of Beatitudes
If He cares for the flowers, then how much more must He care and provide for our lives!

Sunset over the Olive Groves in Galilee

Hiking in Gamla - beautiful vistas

Synagogue in Capernaum
Where Jesus would have learned

Easter Breakfast - Homemade Cinnamon Rolls...
With the Paine sisters :)

Kendall and I in front of Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem