Continuing on in our brief series, we will again look to the seemingly insignificant things of creation in order to better understand our place in God’s design. The words of Christ in Matthew 10:29-31 have much to teach us about the way that God cares for, governs, and loves His people.
Morning Prayer*: Almighty God, our Help and Refuge, Fountain of wisdom and Tower of strength, who knows that I can do nothing without your guidance and help; assist me, I pray, and direct me to divine wisdom and power, that I may accomplish this task, and whatever I may undertake to do, faithfully and diligently, according to your will, so that it may be profitable to myself and others, and to the glory of your Holy Name. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
*Remember that you are praying to an actual person who hears you and desires the best for you, who created the universe and everything in it, and yet still listens to your every concern. Think about that.
Today’s Verse: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. - Matthew 10:29-31
In the middle of a sermon where He sends out the twelve apostles and warns them of the various threats and dangers they are sure to encounter as His followers, Christ offers these words of encouragement and comfort: “have no fear.” Many of us have become so familiar with Matthew’s gospel that these words hardly even shock us anymore, but they should, considering what Jesus has said up to this point in the chapter:
Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
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