Worry

(Matthew 6.25-34)

²² Jesus said to his disciples:

I tell you not to worry about your life! Don't worry about having something to eat or wear. ²³ Life is more than food or clothing. ²⁴ Look at the crows! They don't plant or harvest, and they don't have storehouses or barns. But God takes care of them. You are much more important than any birds. ²⁵ Can worry make you live longer?^{[a] 26} If you don't have power over small things, why worry about everything else?

^27 (A) Look how the wild flowers grow! They don't work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you Solomon with all his wealth^[b] wasn't as well clothed as one of these flowers. ²⁸ God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won't he do even more for you? You have such little faith!

²⁹ Don't keep worrying about having something to eat or drink. ³⁰ Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what you need. ³¹ But put God's work first, and these things will be yours as well.

Treasures in Heaven

(Matthew 6.19-21)

³² My little group of disciples, don't be afraid! Your Father wants to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell what you have and give the money to the poor. Make yourselves moneybags that never wear out. Make sure your treasure is safe in heaven, where thieves cannot steal it and moths cannot destroy it. ³⁴ Your heart will always be where your treasure is.

^7 (A) Crowds of people came out to be baptized, but John said to them, “You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? ^8 (B) Do something to show that you really have given up your sins. Don't start saying you belong to Abraham's family. God can turn these stones into children for Abraham.^{[a] 9 (C)} An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

¹⁰ The crowds asked John, “What should we do?”

¹¹ John told them, “If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn't have any. If you have food, share it with someone else.”

^12 (D) When tax collectors^[b] came to be baptized, they asked John, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³ John told them, “Don't make people pay more than they owe.”

¹⁴ Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us? What do we have to do?”

John told them, “Don't force people to pay money to make you leave them alone. Be satisfied with your pay.”

¹⁵ Everyone became excited and wondered, “Could John be the Messiah?”

¹⁶ John said, “I am just baptizing with water. But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to untie his sandals.^[c] He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷ His threshing fork^[d] is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. He will store the wheat in his barn and burn the husks with a fire that never goes out.”

¹⁸ In many different ways John preached the good news to the people.

Paul Gives Thanks for the Gifts He Was Given

¹⁰ The Lord has made me very grateful that at last you have thought about me once again. Actually, you were thinking about me all along, but you didn't have any chance to show it. ¹¹ I am not complaining about having too little. I have learned to be satisfied with^[a] whatever I have. ¹² I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little. ¹³ Christ gives me the strength to face anything.

¹⁴ It was good of you to help me when I was having such a hard time. ^15 (A) My friends at Philippi, you remember what it was like when I started preaching the good news in Macedonia.^[b] After I left there, you were the only church that became my partner by giving blessings and by receiving them in return. ^16 (B) Even when I was in Thessalonica, you helped me more than once. ¹⁷ I am not trying to get something from you, but I want you to receive the blessings that come from giving.

^18 (C) I have been paid back everything, and with interest. I am completely satisfied with the gifts you sent with Epaphroditus. They are like a sweet-smelling offering or like the right kind of sacrifice that pleases God. ¹⁹ I pray that God will take care of all your needs with the wonderful blessings that come from Christ Jesus! ²⁰ May God our Father be praised forever and ever. Amen.

Service That Pleases God

13 Keep being concerned about each other as the Lord's followers should.

^2 (A) Be sure to welcome strangers into your home. By doing this, some people have welcomed angels as guests, without even knowing it.

³ Remember the Lord's people who are in jail and be concerned for them. Don't forget those who are suffering, but imagine you are there with them.

^4 (B) Have respect for marriage. Always be faithful to your partner, because God will punish anyone who is immoral or unfaithful in marriage.

^5 (C) Don't fall in love with money. Be satisfied with what you have. The Lord has promised that he will not leave us or desert us. ^6 (D) This should make you feel like saying,

¹⁰ If you love money and wealth, you will never be satisfied with what you have. This doesn't make a bit of sense. ¹¹ The more you have, the more everyone expects from you. Your money won't do you any good—others will just spend it for you. ¹² If you have to work hard for a living, you can rest well at night, even if you don't have much to eat. But if you are rich, you can't even sleep.

¹³ I have seen something terribly unfair. People get rich, but it does them no good. ¹⁴ Suddenly they lose everything in a bad business deal, then have nothing to leave for their children. ^15 (A) They came into this world naked, and when they die, they will be just as naked. They can't take anything with them, and they won't have anything to show for all their work. ¹⁶ That's terribly unfair. They leave the world just as they came. They gained nothing from running after the wind. ¹⁷ Besides all this, they are always gloomy at mealtime, and they are troubled, sick, and bitter.^[a]

¹⁸ What is the best thing to do in the short life God has given us? I think we should enjoy eating, drinking, and working hard. This is what God intends for us to do. ¹⁹ Suppose you are very rich and able to enjoy everything you own. Then go ahead and enjoy working hard—this is God's gift to you. ²⁰ God will keep you so happy that you won't have time to worry about each day.

⁷ Of course, I am now referring to the wonderful things I saw. One of Satan's angels was sent to make me suffer terribly, so that I would not feel too proud.^[a]

⁸ Three times I begged the Lord to make this suffering go away. ⁹ But he replied, “My gift of undeserved grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. ¹⁰ Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong.