Matthew 6: 25-34 is a wonderful exhortation for us not to worry about our needs. God says look at the beauty and magnificence of my creation; the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, see how I created them and care for them. If God can do that how much more will he care for us. God says, you focus on me and being like me and pleasing me and I will take care of the provision.

God is not short on supplies for our provision. Everything on this earth belongs to God. “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Ps 50:10). “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts” (Hag 2:8).

I like his instruction to us to leave the worry with him.

In 1 Peter 5:6-7 we are told to humble ourselves before God, cast our cares on him and he will care for us. Now this does not tell us to sit idly by and wait for God to provide; no, we are to work with our hands to provide our needs. In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians he wrote: “For even when we were with you, we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thess 3:10). But, if we trust God and do our part we don’t need to worry, we need to trust God that everything will be taken care of; ends will more than meet. Trust God, take the limits off of him; he will provide.

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In Psalm, 139 we are told that God formed us in our mother’s womb and that he has a plan for each of our lives (v13-16). Let’s also consider the following verses from the Bible: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jer 29:11; KJV) and: “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” (Ps 139:17).

Sit back and close your eyes and meditate on the verses above. The Creator of the universe made you, loves you, thinks of you and has a special plan and place for you.

God does not make junk and is no respecter of person (Matt 22:16). He sees you as important as anyone else. God even sees each one of us as his workmanship, his poem and the work or art that he created (Eph 2:10).

In Psalm 139 King David tells us further that God knows us intimately, right down to our thoughts (v1-4). Nothing is hidden from God (Matt 9:4). David completed Psalm 139 by asking God to search him and show him any evil that needed to be removed from him, so that he (David) could be led by God in God’s perfect plan for his life (v 23-24). I am sure that is the cry of all of our hearts. God called David a man after his own heart (Acts 13:22). I think I would like to be called that as well; how about you?

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In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, chapter 5 and verse 21 (KJV), we read that: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”.  Jesus took our sins upon himself and paid the price for them  that we could be made his righteousness; we are no longer sinners. We were spiritually dead in our sins, we were sinners (Rom 6:23) but Christ won righteousness for us through his sacrifice. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior we come in to righteousness or right standing with God, by grace (Eph 2:8; Rom 3:22; Rom 5:1) and our sins are forgiven (Col 2:13).

But what if as Christians we do sin? We know that we all sin but if we confess our sins God will be quick to forgive us (1 John 1:7-2:2). This does not make us unregenerate sinners again, we are new creations in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:17); the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

In his first epistle and chapter 3, the apostle John seems to indicate that we should never sin but study of the Greek structure here shows us that what he really means is that we should not habitually sin as a life style (v 6-9). In chapter 1, John makes it clear that as Christians we will slip and sin but if we ask forgiveness God will forgive us.

As born-again believers we need to allow his word to renew us and allow his Spirit to change us to walk in his ways so that sin becomes more and more foreign to us (Rom 12:2; Ezekiel 36:26-27). Praise God for his love, grace and forgiveness.

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"And shall God not avenge his own elect which cry out day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:7-8; KJV)?

This verse is talking about persistent faith in prayer. A lot of people are persistent in faith for the first week or month or so but if they have to wait too long for their answer they give up. So, what is faith filled, persistent prayer? “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Luke 11:9). This verse implies persistent prayer but that must be done in faith. In other words, we don’t just ask the same thing day after day but we ask once in faith and then stand upon God’s promises, praising and thanking him for the answer until it appears in the tangible, natural realm.     

So how long do you have to stay in faith for something you are believing for? The answer is to stay in faith and keep waiting on God until you receive, no matter whether it is a week, a month or a year; or more. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise" (Heb 10:35-36). We always need to remember that: “faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb 6:12). Promises, prayer, persistence, praise and patience, the P words.

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“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Phil 3:10). The apostle Paul in this verse indicated that his goal in life was to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.

Think what power (the Greek word dunamis) was needed to raise Jesus from the dead (Eph 1: 19-20). We get our English word dynamite from the Greek word dunamis. That same power dwells in us: “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus form the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Rom 8:11). That power brings life to our mortal bodies, empowers us to be witnesses for him (Acts 1:8) and in fact, makes us like Jesus (2 Cor 3:17-18). Wow and double Wow.

The apostle Paul also mentioned (Eph 1:19) another form of God’s power (Greek Kratos), the power of dominion or authority, which he exercised in raising Christ from the dead. As born-again believers in Jesus we walk in the authority of Jesus over the devil; Jesus took back authority from satan through his (Jesus) death and resurrection (Eph 1:19-22). What a victory we have in Jesus.

But Paul does go on to say, in our theme verse above (Phil 3:10), that we must also be willing to fellowship in Christ’s sufferings and death. With the power and authority Jesus brought us, we must also die to self and live for Christ, no matter how much persecution or difficulty this may bring; are we willing?

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