"Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
Matthew 6:34
The longer I walk hand in hand with Jesus, the more I love Him and the more tender my heart grows toward Him. To be honest, I can hardly hear the mention of His name these days without tears coming to my eyes. He just means the world to me.
And the more He means to me, the more I crave to read and absorb the red letters in my Bible. Knowing that we have HIS words written down, available for us to pick up and read any time we wish, is an immeasurable blessing.
When I am troubled, when the weight of the craziness around me threatens to crush my spirit, when I feel a sense of overwhelm that brings hopelessness over me, when I am tempted to worry over the future—I run to the Rock that is higher than I.
"From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2
I read the red letters in Matthew 6:25-34.
"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
And I think about the words in this old hymn written by Ira Stanphill during a time of deep depression and painful personal loss. (You can read more details here.)
"Dear Heavenly Father,
I pray right now for every person reading these words. I pray that You will show them Your love in such real, tangible ways they will know it is You. I pray You will send deep-down comfort to their inmost souls and that they will know they are not alone. I pray You will meet every one of their needs—spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, and financial. I pray that they will sense Your presence surrounding them, and Your Spirit guiding them every step of the way. I pray that no matter what satan tries to inject into their lives, they see the visible signs of You rising up as their defender. I pray that no matter how dark the future looms before them, they find the fog lifting and the brightness of Your glory shining as they step forward in faith and complete trust in You. Hold them close, dear Lord, and keep them from all evil. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen and amen."
Oh dear sister Cheryl that is just do very beautiful 😍 ❤ lovely words in song so beautifully sung with all your heart... can't wait till heaven and we can walk and talk together of our beautiful Jesus.
ReplyDeleteRe liking red letter bible. I actually don't like them, as I don't agree with the emphasis of one part of the word above the other.
Jesus IS THE WORD ... and in this passage (for example) below not one word was spoken by Him, yet it is wholly about Him as THE WORD. I understand why it brings you comfort though.. even though it i not my choice. "ALL SCRIPTURE Is given by inspiration of God... " yes I know you didn't put it above others but in the comfort it gave you... I do love this passage though and its promises.. in v12 we are we have the power to become the sons of God! Glory to His Name. ❣❣❣☝🙏🙏
John 1:1-14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] The same was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
[4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
[5] And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
[7] The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
[8] He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
[9] That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
[10] He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
[11] He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
[12] But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
[13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
[14] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Thanks for sharing, and may God bless you and keep you and all whom you love safe and well.
Prayer hugs, Shaz in Oz.X
{Wonderful Words of Life - Shaz in Oz}
{Calligraphy Cards - Shaz in Oz}
Thank you for your kind words and the precious Scripture you shared, sweet friend. Yes! One day, we will meet at Jesus feet! What a day of rejoicing that will be! Sending much love to you across the many miles today.
DeletePS and thanks again for that prayer. I really really needed that. In a hard patch... 🙏🙏🙏☝❣❣🙏🙏
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome, and I pray that your hard patch is improving and you are feeling much comfort from the precious Holy Spirit today. Praying for you and trusting alongside you for victory!
DeleteThank you, Cheryl, for this powerful prayer you have lifted to the Lord on our behalf. How my soul is refreshed! These are evil times in which we live, but we know God can overcome evil for good. I cling to that knowledge like a lifeline.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
I'm so thankful your soul was refreshed by the prayer, dear Martha. Oh, dear Lord help us all! These surely are evil times, but God is with us still, and as you said God can overcome evil with His goodness. Praise His holy name. Sending blessings right back to you, sweet friend.
DeleteOh, Cheryl, thank you for sharing this sweet post! I love the song you so prettily sang and the Scripture verses as well. Your heartfelt prayer brought tears to my eyes, as I have prayed in a similar way for the Lord to provide and guide my family. Sweet friend, I'm praying for you as well! God bless you!
ReplyDeleteLove, Valentine
Your precious comments are such an uplift and encouragement to me, dear Valentine! I started an email to you at some point and I have not been able to finish it. I hope to do that soon! I know you are really going through it right now, and my heart goes out to you. Keep encouraged and know that I am praying for you and sending much love and many hugs your way. God bless you always, sweet friend.
DeleteSweet Cheryl, what a beautiful thing it was to hear this song played and sang by you - it has been a favorite song of mine through the years - we cannot see into the future, and know what tomorrow holds, but we do hold the hand of the One who knows it all! What a comfort it is to know Jesus, and to have our hope steadfast in HIM in the midst of this dreadfully wicked world! Keep sharing your beautiful songs in video, they are such a blessing! Love, hugs and prayers!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your precious encouragement, dear Marilyn! I'm glad this is one of your favorite songs. I so appreciate your kind words and support. You are such a blessing to me. Sending much love and many hugs and prayers back your way today, in Jesus' name!
DeleteCouldn't agree with you more, Cheryl: the longer I know Him, the sweeter he grows! (I think Gloria .Gaither wrote a chorus with similar lyrics, back in the 70s. The tune is running in my head!) That sweetness includes the comfort, peace, security and more that He provides, which you've highlighted here. The reality of that growing sweetness is a big plus as we age!
ReplyDeleteI don't know who wrote the song, but I do remember the words, "The longer I serve Him, the sweet He grows; the more that I love Him, more love He bestows. Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows, the longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows." I remember singing that years ago at the Christian school I attended. Now, the tune is running through my head, too! LOL! God bless you always, Nancy.
DeleteWhat a beautiful song and so pertinent for today, dear Cheryl. I loved to beautiful prayer at the end, also. There was a shooting about 5 miles from my house just yesterday, at an outlet mall. We need always to be prepared to meet our Savior.
ReplyDeleteYes, so pertinent, dear Kitty. I didn't know that shooting was that close to your home! Dear Lord, have mercy on us all. I have never seen such evil days as what we are seeing now. May God continually bless and shield His trusting children, in Jesus' precious name. I appreciate your sweet visit and kind words, dear friend.
DeletePraising God with you that He never changes like shifting shadows, that He is the same yesterday, today, forever. We are leaning hard into Him during these days of uncertainty and violence. He is all we have.
ReplyDeleteYes! Clinging to Him with all my might and so looking forward to Him coming back!
DeleteThank you for the prayer, Cheryl. I love that song, I am so glad that I know who hold tomorrow. Blessings sweet friend!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Pam. Many blessings to you, too!
DeleteThank you, Cheryl, for this comfort and this prayer! It fed my soul - and my soul needed this. Bless you, friend!
ReplyDeleteAw, your sweet comment blessed me so much, Maryleigh! I'm so thankful this ministered to you. Many blessings to you, too!
DeleteBeautiful song Cheryl you have shared with us. Your voice is so comforting. A lovely message for us all. Many blessings dear friend.
ReplyDeleteOh, what a blessing your kind words were to me, Linda! I so appreciate your compliments and encouragement. May God bless you always, dear friend.
DeleteHi Cheryl, Your love for the Lord is contagious! Indeed, what consolations His words bring to our hearts and minds. As I read the words to your prayer, they gave me comfort as I am struggling a bit of late with loneliness, worries for the future and especially about my health. But God, He knew I needed to read your sweet post at just the right time and He spoke to me right through your words here on this blog post of the reminder that HE hears me and HE sees me and knows I am struggling.
ReplyDeleteThank you for always being faithful to publish what is on your heart. It means so much to me and to your readers.
Thanking God for you dear friend,
Dear Karen! What a dear blessing to hear from you! I'm so sorry to hear you are struggling with such heavy burdens, my friend. It blesses me immeasurably to know that you found encouragement here. I thank the Lord for you, too, and send much love and hugs to you today.
DeleteThis is such a wonderful post! I shared your video on my recent blog post today - how we need to be encouraged that while we don't know about tomorrow, we know who holds our hand! Blessings to you dear friend!
ReplyDeleteDear Marilyn, how sweet and kind you are to share this post and the song! You have blessed me more than I can express. I love and appreciate you dearly and thank the Lord for you and your encouragement. May He bless you richly, my dear friend.
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