Matthew 6, 365 DAYS OF LOVE #330-331

MEMORY VERSE: "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in human likeness, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place, and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth." Philippians 2:1-10

NOTES: Treasures in Heaven
    ¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

   ²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

   ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

    ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^[b]?

   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Today, in service, Pastor Dan preached on this excerpt. Even though I've read over this passage many times before, it's always a refreshing experience reminding myself of some basic truths in God's word. In light of recent tragedies and events in the world, it makes my daily worries and problems seem petty. To be honest, this past week I have been pretty self-centered in my time management and attitude. Last Saturday I went on an amazing Mexico missions trip and was ready to dedicate more of my life to God, but once Monday rolled around, I sunk into routine of laziness and worldliness. It's tempting to blame my spiritual dryness on my busy schedule or late rehearsals, but I know deep down that it's because of my own fickle heart. There have been times where I have been even busier than I was this past week, but I made time to spend hours praying and studying the Word. Even with all the natural disasters happening, I have been so caught up in my own world that I have failed to store up treasures in heaven. I know even more that I really can't rely on myself, and that I am always more sinful than I think I am. The good part is that God is always there to bring me back and be an everlasting source of strength and love.

ACT OF LOVE #330: Spent a good portion of my Saturday afternoon cleaning the house even though no one asked me to. I scrubbed the bathroom time floors, cleaned the countertops, and took out trash that was filling up our waste bins. Also, took my dog out for a walk. Now all the bathrooms are super clean!

ACT OF LOVE #331: Donated a whole bunch of books to my friend's fundraiser for Invisible Children. I'm trying to learn to use more and more of my 'stuff' for less selfish purposes.