Power Verses…… "There I (Jesus) say to you, 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)

A few days ago the phone rang at home, my wife answered, and within a few seconds I knew by her response that the news she is receiving was bad. In fact it could not have been much worse. The telephone call was to inform us that the oldest son of a very dear friend of ours in Scotland had suffered a major stroke, and within minutes of collapsing he was dead. He was only in his early forties, married with a young family. No warning, no chance for final farewells, no final hug to say, “I love you.”

We humans are so unprepared for the only certainty in life….death. We rarely discuss it, few of us plan the necessary arrangements for our death, and even less of us give but the briefest consideration to how we might spend eternity. Too many of us live in denial of the only guarantee life affords us….death.

A couple of weeks ago the Power Surge was talking about “Navigational Tools for Successful Living”, and one of these tools was “Make major decisions in a cemetery.” The problem is, most of us do, but we soon forget.

Amidst the current global turmoil of recession, depression and daily uncertainty we ALL need to take ‘time out’ from our daily routine, and spend less time chasing and more time reflecting, praying, re-defining, and re-evaluating the essential priorities of our lives to ensure a secure, contented, positive and eternal future. The chaotic and stressful times in which we are living, are crying out to us to blow the dust from our Bible, open it at Matthew’s Gospel and discover the blue print for the fulfilled life, contained within chapters 5, 6 and 7. Popularly known as, “The Sermon on the Mount.”

In chapter 6 verses 25 – 34 notice that  Jesus says five times, “Do not worry.”

Do not be worry for your life (v. 25).

Do not be worry for your needs (v. 31), what you shall eat, drink or wear.

Do not be worry for tomorrow (v. 34)

This teaching encourages us to compare the natural world to our material world.

No bird ever tried to build more nests or more extravagant places to live than its neighbour.

No fox has ever been criticized because she had only one hole in which to hide and rear here young.

No squirrel has ever had a coronary because he failed to store enough nuts for two winters instead of one.

No bear was ever envious of another bear with a larger cave in which to hibernate.

No dog has ever lost a good night’s sleep over the fact that he had not laid aside enough bones for his declining years. And yet, said Jesus, our heavenly Father takes wonderfully good care of all His creatures.

What unnecessary worry, because Jesus tells us that we (created in God’s image) are worth so much more than any animal.

In the current depression and uncertainty that hangs over us like a dark threatening cloud, the following piece written by a fourteen year old lad Jason Lehman may challenge us to re-define our life’s values.

Present Tense

It was spring, but it was summer I wanted,

The warm days, and the great outdoors.

It was summer, but it was autumn I wanted,

The colourful leaves and the cool dry air.

It was autumn, but it was winter I wanted,

The beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.

It was winter, but it was spring I wanted,

The warmth and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted,

The freedom and the respect.

I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted

To be mature and sophisticated.

I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted,

The youth and the free spirit.

I was retired, but it was middle age I wanted,

The presence of mind, without limitations.

My life was over, but I never got what I wanted.

Perhaps the time is now to reach for that Bible, open it at Matthew’s Gospel and discover the blue print for the fulfilled life, contained within chapters 5, 6 and 7.  HOWEVER, there is one condition, and you can read that in chapter 6 verse 33.

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