Thursday, December 1, 2011

Worry not. . .

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26

 Reading through the Gospels recently, I was struck my how many times our Lord exhorted his disciples not to worry or to fear. For Jesus to devote lesson after lesson to this subject, it is apparent that this is a condition common to man. I know most certainly it is a condition common to woman! This woman, in particular! However, to be precise, it is not a "condition," it is sin and it is something we CAN overcome, our Lord would not have commanded us to "not be anxious about tomorrow," and to "fear not." And. . .for those trusting in Christ, we have His Holy Spirit, and He gives us the strength and desire to do what is honoring to the Lord. . and that leads to the next point about fear:

We are, of course, to fear the Lord, and as sweet Laura pointed out, "Fearing and respecting the Lord's greatness and all His attributes brings security and peace. and yet with the Lord there is nothing else to fear as any other fear is not of the Lord." 

For a full discussion of this topic, visit the Stampin' Sisters in Christ blog. This week's challenge focuses on this passage, which I've included below.
In Matthew 6:25-34, we are instructed:
 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 





And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:24-35
  
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  

 Card Details

Stamps: SU! Holiday Best & Northern Hearts; Layers of Color Christmas Verses 
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Soft Suede 
Cardstock:Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso 
Accessories: SU Northern Hearts Embossing Folder, Snowflake punch, SU pearls, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, VVanilla Seam Binding. 
Tools: Spellbinders Labels 18 
Challenges:

 Blessings! jme ~ SDG

7 comments:

  1. Jan, what a wonderful post. Thank the Lord that we can overcome with the help of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the Word! Your card is beautiful! God bless you, dear sister!

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  2. Jan, this is too fun! Love the card. I must take a picture of the one I did this week. Same folder. .. . .

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  3. Jan this is AMAZING!!! I love what you have done here, and the Lord is truly the focus of your card. Beautiful.
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  4. Jan this is soooo beautiful! The white on white is so peaceful, which is perfect for the thoughts on worry! I too am a sinner in the anxiety department! Loved the Scriptures you shared!!!
    hugs,
    Grace

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  5. WOWSA! I love this! So beautiful. Thank you for joining us at Stampin Sisters in Christ and thank you for sharing your thoughts and scripture!

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  6. Hello Jan - this is gorgeous - inside and out! I love the embossing and the way you have used the Layers of Color verses inside your card - they are perfect! Thank you for playing along with is at this weeks Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge this week - we love to see you! {{{hugs}}}
    Linda SSIC Design Team

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  7. Beautiful card and post..I am also guilty of worrying. Thanks for sharing the scriptures and for playing along with us this week at SSIC!!

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Thanks for your encouraging words! Have a blessed day!