Daily Bible Verse - 10/6/2007 - Matthew 6:25

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?

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?

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Matthew 6:25

Commentary
This type of worry causes us to devote our finest energies to making sure we will have enough to live on. Then before we know it, our lives have passed, and we have missed the central purpose for which we were made. God did not create us in His image with no higher destiny than that we should consume food. We are here to love, worship, and serve Him and to represent His interests on earth. Our bodies are intended to be our servants, not our masters.

MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Mt 6:25). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Did you know?

Most people in Jesus' time struggled to meet their most basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. Workmen were paid daily, so that they would have money to buy food for their families the next day. It is difficult for us today, with our social safety nets, to understand how precarious life was for most people of the first century.

Jesus urged those who would live as citizens of His kingdom to give priority to spiritual matters. They were to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, confident that the God who knew their needs would provide for their daily needs.

Richards, L. (1998). Every promise in the Bible. Includes indexes. (167). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

Daily Bible Verse - 10/5/2007 - 2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:3

Commentary

First we are assured that God has made full provision for us to have a life of holiness. This provision is said to be an evidence of His power: His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Just as His power saves us in the first place, so His power energizes us to live holy lives from then on. The order is-first life, then godliness. The gospel is the power of God to save from the penalty of sin and from its power, from damnation and from defilement.

The all things that pertain to life and godliness include the high priestly work of Christ, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the activity of angelic agencies on our behalf, the new life we receive at conversion, and the instruction of the word of God.

The power to live a holy life comes through the knowledge of Him who called us. Just as His divine power is the source of holiness, so the knowledge of Him is the channel. To know Him is eternal life (John 17:3) and progress in knowing Him is progress in holiness. The better we get to know Him, the more we become like Him.

MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (2 Pe 1:3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.