CamDevo

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Today’s verse is a very familiar one. It’s been turned into songs, including the campfire song you may remember from our summer camp days. But what I didn’t realize is that it is in a part of Jesus’s speech given the heading ‘the cure for anxiety’ in this translation. Wonderful! In the rest of the verse Jesus tells me not to worry about my needs. Jesus also compares my life that that of birds and flowers both of which are fed and clothed more than adequately because God loves them. And then Jesus says that God loves me even more than the birds and flowers. Then in today’s verse He finally answers the how question. How do I stop worrying? The answer is to stop focusing on myself and my needs and to focus instead of God and what He wants. Simple, but not that easy. God wants to be my number 1 priority. Not after I finish my chores. Not after I relax for a while after a long day. Not once the bills are all paid. Before all that! Number 1! It’s a matter of trust. Do I believe this verse? If I tithe first, before my bills are paid, do I trust God to help me steward my money more wisely so I have enough at the end of the month to put gas in the car? If I take time to listen to a lonely stranger when I’m rushing around, do I trust that God will bless me by getting me where I need to be in time? If I take time to pray and study the Bible before I take care of important paperwork, do I trust God to give me the time and strength to complete it later? Or maybe He’ll work some miracle where the paperwork isn’t needed after all. God is creative. The important thing for me to know is that He loves me and if I make His plans my number 1 plans, then my needs will be met. And then some. 

Dear God,

Thank you so much for this promise! Help me to trust you with all my needs so that I don’t have to worry about any of them. Teach me to risk leaving my worries at your feet while I spend time with you. Show me everyday where you want my time and money to go first.

“Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I don’t know for sure but I think Paul must have been near the end of his long ministry when he wrote this. He seems ready to be done. In the verses before this he talks about preferring to be ‘home with God’ instead of in his ‘tent’ or his earthly body. I think he’s in pain. Prison, torture, isolation… that’ll do it to you. But this is not a hopeless message. Quite the opposite! He is excited about what is to come and he can’t wait. Why? Because he knows that he has been forgiven. Reconciled by Jesus. His whole ministry has been based on that excitement. He wants everyone to know reconciliation with God! He wants everyone to be sure of what comes next. Today’s verse explains how this reconciliation with God should affect me. When I accept forgiveness, I also accept the exciting job of sharing that potential reconciliation with other people. Lots of people are afraid to die. Because they don’t know what’s next. But Paul did. And I do. And everyone who knows Jesus knows what’s next. Because of Jesus’s efforts to reconcile me, the beautiful wonder of eternity with my loving Creator is next. Sharing that good news is my ministry of reconciliation.

Dear God,

Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for reconciling me to you. And thank you for your beautiful promise of what happens next, after this life ends. I look forward to that. In the meantime, teach me how to run a ministry of reconciliation. I don’t know what that looks like so speak to me about it in practical ways as I interact with the people you put in my path.

“Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭36‬ ‭CSB‬‬

This is Jesus talking. Part of His sermon on the mount. It comes right after His discussion about loving your enemies and turning the other cheek and all that. Then comes today’s verse. At first it doesn’t seem to fit. Is loving my enemies the same as being merciful? Mercy isn’t a word I use very often in my every day speech. Oxford defines mercy as “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.” I may not immediately recognize my power to harm someone, especially if they are my boss or someone else with authority over me, or just someone much stronger or with more resources than me. But there are always ways to harm. It’s always within my power. Little sabotages here and there. Some unkind gossip. Working slower than I can or just doing sloppy work. When someone has wronged me, become my “enemy”, it feels so right to get back at them in some way big or small. But that’s what today’s verse warns me not to do by reminding me that God has extended mercy to me. God definitely has the power to harm me! He could direct a bus to squash me flat or send a tornado to sweep my house off the earth or inflict my loved ones each with a different disease to pick them off one-by-one. But He doesn’t do this. He has shown me mercy instead. I deserve His wrath. But He has extended forgiveness and compassion instead.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for the great mercy you have given me. I know I don’t deserve that and I could never earn it. Your generosity is unbelievable! Teach me how to be merciful with everyone in my life. Open my eyes to the times when I am not showing mercy and give me the courage and strength to change my attitude back to love.

“But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

It is so true that it is so hard to do something nice for an ungrateful, mean person. Imagine someone who has insulted you, bullied you, ignored your efforts at friendship, returned borrowed tools with broken parts or not at all, gossiped about you, keyed your car – whatever ugly behavior you can think of… (It’s so easy to think of awful things, isn’t it?) Now imagine giving that person your house to live in when theirs burned down because they had a meth lab in the basement. Then imagine donating a kidney to them. They aren’t grateful but mock you for being such a pushover, a fool. Now imagine you are dying because of an infection due to the kidney donation and having no home. They still aren’t grateful but you stop by to mow their lawn with a smile and a kind word right before you die. This is how much Jesus loves me. He gave everything, including His life, to save me from my own bad choices, my sin, even though I wasn’t grateful and didn’t care.

Dear God,
Thank you for your love. I am so grateful. Teach me never to take your love for granted but to accept it with gratitude every day and share it generously with everyone in my life whether they ‘deserve’ it or not.