“SEEK YE FIRST…” | Frank Becker

Week Thirty, 2024

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:33-34).

I love it when something that Jesus said is so clear.

• He didn’t say seek Him first, but after your second cup of coffee

• He didn’t say seek Him first, but after you’ve read the paper or watched your favorite morning news show

• He didn’t say seek Him first, but not before your spouse and/or family

• He didn’t say seek Him first, but not before your career, professional goals or work

• He didn’t say seek Him first, just behind any personal goals and dreams you might have

• He didn’t say seek Him first, just behind all the church work and church stuff you’ve got to accomplish

• He didn’t say seek Him first, but only if all your personal needs and desires are satisfied

• He didn’t say seek Him first, but only if you don’t have anything better to do

• He didn’t say seek Him first, but only if you feel like it

• He didn’t say seek Him first, if you feel Him close on the mountain top or if you’ve hit rock bottom in the valley

• He didn’t say seek Him first, but only after you fret and worry about it first

He said “seek FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness…” In the midst of a passage where He is telling us not to worry about our life, what we will eat or drink, our body or what we will wear, Jesus said, “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

What is it (or who is it) that you are putting before your relationship with God?

What is it (or who is it) that you are seeking first? Marty Stubblefield

SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

According to the New York Times, we have the good fortune to be part of what is probably the greatest improvement in life expectancy, nutrition, and health that has ever unfolded in one lifetime.

Here is one example: one hundred years ago, President Calvin Coolidge’s sixteen-year-old son developed a blister on a toe while playing tennis on the White House court. It became infected, and without antibiotics, the boy died within a week. Today, as Kristof reports, “the most impoverished child in the United States on Medicaid has access to better health care than the president’s son did a century ago.

ABORTION:

• Indiana Abortions Drop 98% as Abortion Ban Saves Hundreds of Babies.

• Planned Parenthood Brought in $2.9 Billion Last Year, Killed 1,075 Babies in Abortions Every Day. Planned Parenthood Killed 392,715 Babies in Abortions Last Year, a Record Number

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U.S. Fertility Rate Reaches Record Low in 2023:

National Review: The U.S. fertility rate hit a new record-low last year, continuing a persistent trend that will have significant consequences for American society. The total fertility rate dropped to 1.62 births per woman last year, a 2 percent decline from the year before, according to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control. The figure is below replacement level, meaning Americans are not having enough children to replace themselves, a development with major implications for the American economy. The total fertility rate recorded by the CDC is the lowest since the U.S. government began tracking it nearly a century ago (National Review). CDC: The rate has generally been below replacement since 1971 and consistently below replacement since 2007 (CDC).

QUOTES YOU CAN USE

It doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself. Lucille Ball

John Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel, The Grapes of Wrath. When he was asked if his novel is “Jewish propaganda,” he replied: “It happens that I am not Jewish and have no Jewish blood . . . I can prove these things of course—but when I shall have to—the American democracy will have disappeared.

The world may be broken, but all is not lost…because of all He has done. Calvary’s always enough! Scott Whitaker

We have all failed in some way in our relationship with the Lord. We have done things or are even now doing things that cause the Lord to work in a way in our life that He may not have wanted for us. Elbert Nasworthy

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. Jules Renard

Here is a humanistic culture without God. It is egotism and pride centered in man; this culture has lost the concept not only of God, but of man as one who loves his brother. Francis Schaeffer

Many people serve God in invisible behind the scenes ways. Jim Wilson

Jesus is the bridge between God and man. Dan Shock

Life becomes easier and more beautiful when we can see the good in other people. Roy T. Bennett

Stand for something. Always have class and be humble. John Madden

Those who receive the blessing of God, worship God. Worship the Lord God. Edgar Aponte

Not once in the Bible does it say worry about it, stress over it, or figure it out. But over and over, it clearly says to trust God.

The only rational thing to do when one encounters the beauty of a rose is to breathe in its fragrance and say: “That is a creation of my God.” Dan Shock

The Flesh can never be satisfied. Florida Marketplace Ministry

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Epicurus

It is the responsibility of every saved one to share the way to be saved so that the great commission of Jesus to preach the gospel to all will be complied with. Stephen Bernard

We may say those statements in our minds, say them in our heart of hearts, even say them out loud for all to hear, but do our actions match our declarations? If I say that I trust in the Lord, but my life is riddled with worry and doubt (more than our questions and concerns), what does that declare about my faith in Jesus? Marty Stubblefield

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