Today’s devotion is from Matthew 6:22-25,33
22-25 ‘The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’
In this teaching, Jesus talks about four key New Covenant things that have to be in line in order to receive the New Covenant prosperity that He has already given… your FOCUS, your TRUST, your THOUGHTS and your PRIORITIES. This teaching is not about a formula, but about values, faith and reliance. It is about receiving by grace through faith in Jesus vs. trying to make things happen in our own strength. The one produces Kingdom wealth, peace and joy, and the other produces fear, bondage, stress and burnout.
Your focus…
Jesus talks about the importance of our focus… He said, “If your eye be single…” In other words, “if you are focused” on Jesus only, everything will be full of light and life and power! When believers look to Jesus as well as to money, circumstances and other people, they lose FOCUS. Life becomes BLURRED, and they can easily be led astray. Keep your eyes on Jesus, stay focused on His Word, His calling and the leading of the Spirit! Stay focused and prosper!
Your trust…
Jesus goes on to say, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” The Greek word translated as ‘master’ is ‘kýrios’, translated mostly as ‘LORD’ as in Jesus is Lord. So, Jesus is saying, “you can only have one Savior and one Lord”. Many believers make decisions based upon money instead of what Jesus is saying. They have unwittingly made money their Lord instead of Jesus. They are more influenced by money than by the Word of God and that is because their TRUST and their security is in money. Included in the Lordship of Jesus, is provision, blessing and prosperity. Serve Jesus, and get your eyes and trust off money and prosper!
Your thoughts…
Jesus continues, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment”. Take no thought! For some, all they ever think about is what Jesus said to take no thought about! How many believers spend countless days and nights thinking, scheming and worrying about money, bills or provision? Some are constantly thinking about how they can make more money, and others are constantly thinking and worrying about their lack, yet Jesus said, “Take no thought” about any of that stuff. THINK ABOUT and meditate upon the Word, think about what the Holy Spirit is saying, think about the things listed in Philippians 4:8, and think about Jesus, the New Covenant and the kingdom of God and prosper!
Your priorities…
Jesus ends His teaching by dealing with our priorities… “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” As the righteousness of God in Christ, make His kingdom your priority! What does it mean to prioritize something? It means that when it comes to your FOCUS, your TRUST, your STEWARDSHIP and your THOUGHTS, the kingdom of God comes first. It means that we prioritize the Kingdom, and put it before our needs, before our business, before our financial goals, before our personal priorities and even before our family! Jesus said,“and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News,will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30) Prioritize Jesus and His kingdom and prosper!