December 21, 2025 -- Matthew 6:25,32 -- Secure in Your Father's Love

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on…For Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
Matthew 6:25,32 ESV
 
Whenever you read the word “therefore” in the bible ask yourself what is it there for? What happened just before this? Before this teaching, Jesus taught His disciples to pray: “Our Father in heaven”. You know the prayer so well. You realize a significant petition, or request contained in the prayer are these words “give us this day our daily bread”. Everything we need for life and godliness are bound up in that little-seeming request, which is, as you can see, a huge request. Those who are assured of their Father’s love and aware of His bountiful care, when they pray, confidently trust in His provision.
 
The closer context is the teaching of treasures stored up on earth, or those stored up in heaven. Whatever, or whomever you are serving proves which master you are serving. If you have truly placed your treasure in heaven, then you will be looking up, knowing that God is all-powerful, able to hear and answer your prayers. As your thoughts are focused on heavenly matters, you realize Jesus Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand. Jesus, our Mediator, sent by the Father to reconcile us, sinners though we were, to achieve the cross-won reconciliation whereby we are freed of our sins and shame, and Spirit-enabled to turn to God.
 
Interesting, isn’t it, that Jesus is teaching precisely what He is living. He doesn’t have a home. No bank account. No shelter bed He goes to. He is a wandering preacher, dependent on God for His food and drink and His clothes. He lived each day confident of His heavenly Father’s provision. Above all, Jesus was confident in His Father’s love. The circumstances of His life were all perfectly arranged so that as a Man, Jesus would live a life completely dependent on His Father’s provision. Jesus lived, assured that fruitful and lean years, any money or any poverty He had came to Him not by chance, but from the Fatherly, merciful, hand of God.
 
Anxiety is thrown down precisely because believers have their Father in heaven. He is a good Father. He is a faithful Father. He is a proven Father, Who has always supplied the needs of His people in times past. Understand, your greatest need is knowing God intimately. The single-longing for which you were created is to be in fellowship with the Divine One, Who fashioned you for relationship with Himself. When you look back on your life, you’ll see how all circumstances worked together to bring you into an awareness of your sin, show you your need to unburden yourself of that sin, and then, most importantly, your greatest need and pleasure in life which is to walk in close communion with God. The result of that is that your sins will never again gain control of your life. God Who called you, Who through Jesus reconciled you and removed your shame, is the same God Who by His Spirit will guard you in rich fellowship with Himself. That chain of salvation gives the LORD’s people the confidence of His covenant love which allows them to serve God, no matter what else is going on in their life. Therefore, since God is our Father, therefore, since God loves us and has faithfully proven His love to us in Christ, we are not anxious.
 
Our Father in heaven, we bless You. Thank You for Your faithful provision in every area of our life. Teach us to trust in You. By the reconciling work of Jesus, let our confidence in You grow and our devoted love for You increase. By the ever-present work of the Holy Spirit, let the light of Your love and Your work in us, draw many others to You as they see our confident security in Your great love. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/TxC16duiHvQ?si=fx8WA3knCDi4g2oC O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer