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Our daily Bible readings are found at Listener's Bible. You can listen to the text or read it and it will update each day. Let’s pray together: Lord, let our souls rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. may You guide us through the wilderness: protect us through the storm; may Father, we pray for Gabon, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Paraguay, Yemen and the church in these countries as well as the lost. Today Lord turn our worry into praise Lead our leaders and fill them with a hunger for true justice. And help us to turn our hearts towards You. You bring us home rejoicing: at the wonders You have shown us; may You bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors. Amen Meditation The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. Matthew 13:22 Bobby Mcferrin wrote and performed the ubiquitous song of the late 1980’s, “Don’t worry, Be happy”. It was the first a capella song to make it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, inspired by a poster with the eponymous phrase on it, comedian George Carlin* said, (that the song's message) “was exactly the kind of mindless philosophy that Americans would respond to". While Mcferrin’s observation that , “in your life expect some trouble, When you worry you make it double” is spot on, Carlin had a point; it’s a light and fun song that may lift a person’s spirits in the daily grind, but offers little in the way of hope or comfort in the face of real tragedy. It is believed that the message of an Indian guru inspired the catchphrase in the early 20th century, so what, as Christians, are we supposed to do with a concept like this? First off feel free to observe truth wherever we find it, as Paul states in Romans, “… since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” But we also need to recognize that ultimately truth is not just information but embodied in God Himself. As Jesus said in the gospel of John, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.” There’s nothing wrong with swinging along to “Don’t worry, be happy!” but we know there is so much more. We as Christians do not have to be controlled by worry because we have faith that God is all-powerful and completely good We understand that we live in a broken and sinful world occupied by broken and sinful people like ourselves, and we know we are each individually known, loved, and called to a life of restoration, Soooo…we can choose peace in the midst of difficulty and suffering. This is a dramatically different foundation than the Eastern mystic belief that suffering is an illusion and all individuality will be erased as we are united with the oneness of the god-consciousness, so don’t worry, be happy, promoted by guru Baba Meher. When Jesus says, “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the Word, making it unfruitful”, He is observing another “spiritual law”. If we allow our anxiety and fear to rule and drive us, then the power of God will be elbowed out of lives. We literally replace God with fear when we live full of worry. Now, no one wants to do this, it is a form of madness but it is a madness that is often justified as being “prudent” or “realistic”. “You can’t just ignore_______! It’s a real issue.” However, when put our hope and trust in Christ, we are not ignoring ________, instead we are placing ____________ (that we don’t have control over anyway) in God’s hands. Choosing to trust God is active, not passive. The sad reality is, we as Christians say we want to full of the “fruit of the Spirit” but we try to serve two masters and end up living fruitless lives. You can’t serve money and God and you can’t serve fear and God. God is jealous for you because it breaks His heart to see you being destroyed. The “worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth” are real issues BUT God is bigger, more powerful and He loves you. In the words of a different song, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace” *no relation we know of Photo by Akshar Dave from Pexels