Posts with the tag “trust”

"I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me." - John 15:5 We live in a world that praises self-sufficiency. We are taught from a young age to stand on our own two feet, to work hard, and to prove ourselves. So it is no surprise that many of us struggle to grasp what true spiritual dependence looks like. Yet...  Read More

"For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?" – Matthew 16:26 There is a story about Lord Castlereagh, who once owned one of the most beautiful castles in all of Ireland. After years of abandonment, he returned to find the walls of his castle picked apart by locals who had scavenged the stones to build with. Ho...  Read More

"For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?" – Matthew 16:26 Jesus never asked empty questions. Every word He spoke was purposeful, meant to cut through the noise and reach the heart. In Matthew 16, He asks one of the most piercing questions of all. What does it really profit a person if they gain the world, b...  Read More

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21 There’s an old story about a man named Castlereagh, heir to a once-great estate in Ireland. After generations of influence and wealth, the family castle sat abandoned, its stones being stolen piece by piece by the locals. Hoping to protect what remained, Castlereagh hired a mason to build a wall around the property. Years ...  Read More

“Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up twelve baskets full of leftover pieces.” – Matthew 14:19-20 It’s one of the most familiar miracles in all of Scripture, but sometimes we’re so used to it that we forget just how staggering it really is. Thousands of people sitting on a hillside, hungry and tired after fol...  Read More

“And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’” – Luke 5:4–5 Sometimes God asks you to do something that just doesn’t make sense. In Luke 5, we read about a group of professional fishermen who had spent the entire night do...  Read More

"Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, he blessed them and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds." - Matthew 14:19 One of the most well-known miracles in Scripture is the feeding of the five thousand. It is the only miracle, outside the resurrection, that is recorded in all four gospels. That tells us something. It mat...  Read More

"Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped his feet with her hair." – John 12:3 When Mary poured out that expensive perfume on Jesus in John 12, she wasn't trying to be impressive. She wasn’t calculating the cost or concerned about what others would say. She was simply expressing her love for Him in the purest way she knew how. And yet, the moment...  Read More

"This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." – John 11:4 Sometimes God’s plan doesn’t make sense in real time. We pray, we wait, and we watch as the situation gets worse instead of better. Just like Mary and Martha, we wonder why Jesus doesn’t show up when we think He should. Their brother Lazarus was sick, and they believed...  Read More

"Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?" - Matthew 6:25 Most of us do not need someone to tell us life is heavy. We already feel it. The weight of responsibility. The pressure to perform. The constant tug-of-war between what we can control and wha...  Read More

"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them" - Matthew 6:32 There is a tightness that comes with worry. You feel it in your chest. In your shoulders. In your jaw. It shows up when you are gripping life too hard, convinced that if you just hold on tighter, things will finally come together. But that grip is not strength. It is fear dressed up a...  Read More

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you." - Matthew 6:33 Out in the fields, wildflowers bloom without trying. They do not strain to grow or panic about the weather. They just receive. God provides the sun, the rain, and the soil. Everything they need comes from outside themselves. And Jesus says we should take a good look at that. Tha...  Read More

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things" - Colossians 3:2 Worry does not always start big. It can begin with a glance. A thought. A tiny distraction that slowly grows until it grabs hold of your full attention. The more you stare at it, the bigger it gets. Jesus knew this. That is why when He talked about worry, He did not just say stop it. He told us to change what we are looking a...  Read More

"Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?" - Matthew 6:27 Sometimes Jesus taught by telling stories. Other times, He taught by asking questions. And in Matthew 6, He fires off a whole bunch of them. Not to confuse us, but to get us thinking. Because worry makes you ask all the wrong questions. What if this happens? What if that falls apart? What if I cannot hold it all together?...  Read More

"Consider the birds of the sky, they don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?" - Matthew 6:26 Most of the time, worry does not come from what is actually happening. It comes from how we see what is happening. That is why Jesus did not just tell folks to stop worrying in Matthew 6. He showed them a better way to see. A new perspec...  Read More