"Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)
When I was in grammar school, we prayed this every school day. I am proud to say it was the United States of America saying to the Lord Jesus Christ, "We really appreciate you and the prayer you gave us." No? Well, I think somewhere along the line this was once in American thinking. Then came O'Hara. She hated Jesus Christ and His Church, and a new generations of Americans agreed with her. Remember, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." I question the, "good men," in that quote. Do "good men" really do nothing?
But I digress. This is not the thought which I woke up with this morning. As I pray for my family, one of the things I pray is the prayer of Jesus. I have noticed for years that our Lord did not teach us to pray, "Give us enough guaranteed food for the rest of our lives," nor, "Give us this month," nor even, "Give us this week." Remember what happened to the manna when they kept if for more than a day. Now we used to can and still do a little freezing of the summer corn we get. That is not the point. The point is any hoarding mentality which is motivated by fear and unbelief. It drives the "guaranteed jobs" and "guaranteed income" demands of Americans. Fear and unbelief, the two always go together. Where unbelief is, there fear is sure to follow. Later in the chapter, Jesus tells us, "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'" Here is the equation-- Unbelief=Worry+Fear.
In April of 1986, we stepped out "in faith" to serve the Church in Eastern Europe. We had no "guaranteed income," no regular pay check. We had just bought a new house and had our three children in a Christian School, which meant tuition. Some would call it irresponsible living. This is in no way a boast. I know my great frailty. But Oswald Chambers once said that the way to live in Jesus Christ is to "obey with reckless abandon." If it were I who were telling you today not to worry, you would still have plenty reason to worry. It is our Lord Jesus Who tells us-------------- "Therefore do not be anxious (worry) for tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care for itself." Remember, the prayer is, "daily bread."
Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for "daily" everything. Amen.
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"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
