IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

Do Not Worry or Be Afraid

Date: Jul. 19, 2023

Passage

Luke 12:22-34 (ESV)

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, 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. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 12:32

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Our lives are full of worries. Many worry about their livelihood, how they will provide for themselves and their families with even basic necessities. Others worry about their health and safety. Still others worry about their image and status. Parents worry about their children. Then there is worry over the environment, our political and economic landscape, and nuclear war, etc. Worries and anxiety plague us.

Jesus does not tell us to be complacent or negligent, but to seek first his kingdom and to trust that God will provide all that we need. When we first trust in God's love and care for us, we can build a firm foundation that can withstand greater and greater storms of life when they arise. God's love for us, fully realized, even goes beyond our life and death. God's kingdom and treasures never perish, spoil, or fade away. When we have this experience and relationship with God, he empowers us to live life to the full, with all that we need and more.

Prayer: Prayer: Lord, my worries often arise because I don't recognize your great love for me and provision for my life. I take matters in my own hands and am blind to your rich and eternal kingdom, which you offer generously to all who seek it.

One Word: One Word: Seek first his kingdom.

Daily Bread

Hezekiah’s Prayer

2 Kings 19:1-19

Key Verse: 19:19

So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.”

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