August 15-16

“I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, as to what you shall eat or what you shall drink” (Matthew 6:25). “Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?” (6:27). “O men of little faith: Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' (6:31 RSV)

We all worry about something, get anxious from time to time, but the trouble with worry is that it keeps us from enjoying what we have. There is a story about a little boy who was always misbehaving in church, despite the many warnings of punishment issued by his parents if it didn't stop. Sabbath came, and so did the usual behaviour. Enough was enough! As he was being led out of church by an embarrassed mother, the boy looked pleadingly at the congregation and called out, “Pray for me....please, pray for me!” Now, that is worry!

Worry is assuming responsibilities we cannot handle. It makes us forget our self-worth, and is a complete waste of energy. It solves nothing. When one worry is gone it is replaced by another from the line queuing up outside our door, just waiting to erase the promises of God – the promise that He cares. So, what can we do when worry comes knocking? First, immediately commit the worry to God, refuse to entertain it. Next, live one day at a time, today....only today. I like the advice Robert Burdette gives. He says, “There are two days in the week about which I never worry. Two carefree days, kept sacredly free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is yesterday, and the other day I do not worry about is tomorrow.”

I leave the summary to Chuck Swindoll who gives us four simple words to get the handle on worry:

PRESENCE – Claim God's presence. Say to yourself “I'm not alone.”

PROMISES – Recount God's promises. There are more than 7,000 of them in the Scriptures.

PRAYER – Tell God about your worry. After doing so, leave it with Him.

PATIENCE – Wait on God. Rather than rushing in and messing things up, trust His provision.

(Charles R. Swindoll, 2000. “Perfect Trust.” ).

To hear Bryn's choice of music for today, “I've Been Through Enough” - Grace Larson. Click on the picture to listen.

     Housekeeping details for you

     The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.

     A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here