home4ed

This is a different summary in that it is not a guideline of omission of evil as much as it is a all to submission to the righteousness of Christ and a call to proactive faith instead of a passive faith. The difference is so clear to me now.

These verses teach us about God's love for us in comparison to a parent's love for their child. Since God is Holy His love is far superior and rightly demonstrated than ours can be becausde of our sinfulness. This differs from a cynical view of God's love in that it doesn't show Him as one who is unloving or uncaring or harsh discipline. It is important to have this understanding to develope trust in God and His will for us.

The lesson is one of persistance. It is through persistance we get through some of life's difficult situations. It is persistance that developes our character in faith. It reminds me of Rom 5:4 where "perserverance produces character" and it is the character of Christ we are to be being formed to. The parables in Luke give us a picture of what asking, seeking, knocking can look like and what they can result in.

Ask, seek, and knock all indicate an active pursuit of something, God. While "Ask" is a petition showing submission to authority, seeking and knocking requires more action. Pursuing and moving. I think more risk is required of seeking and knocking yet all 3 are a continual practice in a christian's journey.

Dogs and pigs are both scavengers, even today they are. My dog will alway raid the trash can if we leave him and it unattended!Holy food and pearls are both valuable, not to be wasted on scavenger unclean animals. When people's heart have become calloused they are unable to hear, see, and understand the Gospel. The lies of the world are like the scraps and trash and the parls are God's wisdom. But when people have open hearts and are asking for the wisdom of God these are who the Apostles continued to witness to. People hungry for real truth.

It is humorous to think of a plank in one's eye let alone someone with a plank in their eye trying to pull a sliver out of someone elses. It doesn't seem as humorous to think of it as sin because sin doesn't have a physical size but yet how well can we even see others problems/sin when our own is so huge it would obstruct our view and therefore how good could we be at identifying and removing it? When we have sin in our life who would take us seriously when pointing out sin. It's kind of like an overweight person giving diet advice. When you have been overweight and then lost it then you can give advice credibly, likewise when you have dealt with your own sin then you are credible to help someone else with theirs.

37

I think the joke is He points out the futility of worry and how little it accomplishes. Like others have replied, it adds nothing and it can be very destructive to our faith as well as is a poor witness to others. To worry is disobedience because He commands us not to.

The command is to seek, go after, God. Seeking God must differ from seeking physical needs because it must be our motivator. It must come first and be our driving force and what we crave and desire and define how our physical needs are met. For me, as I have grown closer to the Lord, I have found that what I consider "necessary" has also changed and diminshed. The promise is that we will be provided for as we are obedient to the Lord.

(Matthew 6:31-32) Why does Jesus mention the "pagans" or "Gentiles" in verse 32? What point is he making? I think Jesus mentions the pagans and gentiles because they live with out consideration of their eternal soul. Their concern is the physical here and now instead of the Father is heaven in whom they can have eternal life through Christ. How should a Christian differ from a Gentile, according to Jesus' teaching in this passage? A Chhrstian would not worry about his/her needs but trusts for God's perfect provision to the faithful who walk in obedience. I too struggle with the homeless and hungry and if they are faithful followers and yet still suffer these things. What emotional and faith effect does the phrase, "your heavenly Father knows that you need them," have in your life? It is a comfort to know God loves me as his child. I was fortunate to have an earthly father who loved me and made sure we always had what was needed. In the same way I can trust God, my heavenly father, to make sure we will be ok. It helps too to have the perspective of eternity that no matter how hard things get there is way more to experience, beyond this earthly existence, with our father. The Pagans and Gentiles don't have this comfort.

In this passage I counted the phrase "do not worry" 3 times. Worry shows a lack of faith in trusting the Lord. It robs us of that perfect peace and causes us to question God. When we get to this place we are tempted to take matters into our own hands to provide our needs and that can mean lying, cheating stealing etc.These are definitely sin. Worry and trust are exact opposites that result in very different behavior.

These parables point to God's faithfulness to provide for his creations. If we are faithful to work(when able) and live by his standards then God provides. Even the birds have to gather(work for) their food. Many times I have considered purchasing clothes for my growing children when money was tight and chose to wait. Almost everytime there would be a large garbage bag of clothing handed to me and all we needed plus some was provided! The analogy with the birds and the lilies to us, His children breaks down somewhat though because they don't have free will to choose to follow and trust the Lord. We do and that is how I try to make sense of the homeless Rochelle. I have yet to meet someone who, by NO fault of their own (adults), has wound up homeless and or hungry. I know plenty of us don't have alot but our needs are provided for. But I think Jesus' real point is that worrying about the material distracts our focus from God and worshipping him.

I really didn't think I was a very material person but about 12 years ago my husband's business took it's first hard financial hit. We were financially wrecked. I was completely without peace. My faith was not in the Lord as I had thought but in the comfort of our ability to make an income. I thought I was somewhat in control and trusted in our abilities. Then things happened totally out of my control and I learned what it really meant to depend on Christ. It was a hard lesson but the Lord saw us through. There are times that coveting things I don't need hit me all the time but I am far more aware of the fact that The Lord is in control and it is Him I serve and He is faithful. It is Him I love and worship