Back in March…
…COVID-19 became a new term in our vocabulary globally… and personally, my daily devotions had me deep in Daniel and Revelation. Adding to the unsettling concern inside, my social media news-feed followed all the major news networks exposing my eyes to compounding news reports on the current circumstances. It was a rough patch to say the least. I began to feel insecure about what was happening in the world and my devotions only seemed to amplify the awful feeling ramping up. As Becky and I were talking one evening about all this, I came to a clarity that I needed to disconnect some of my news intake and bump the record player in my devotions and go someplace fresh for at least part of my reading. I pressed the eject button on Revelation and turned my New Testament reading to Matthew.
Red Letters
A lot of the Bibles I own are what are known as “red-letter” bibles. On one of these troubling days I was listening to the radio and a David Crowder song came on called “Red Letters”. I’ve heard this song a hundred times but, like many of the songs on this station, I paid little attention to the words or the meanings of the songs… until this day. This song got me thinking about the red letters in the scriptures. They are words that were actually spoken by Jesus. It seemed to really hit me just how significant that is. Jesus opened his mouth, moved his lips, air passed his vocal cords to form the very words written in red letters in the bible.
Now, theology and bible literacy both confirm God spoke through the writers of the bible and His voice is behind the written text of scripture to a level unparalleled anywhere else in the world. But the red letters made me think about all the times people in biblical history heard the very voice of God. Moses always comes to mind for me first… glowing face. Then I think about Peter when he suggested the construction of three tabernacles; one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus… I remember what it was like when I first heard God speak… “Who was with you when you were dying?” Most of those who found themselves before the unmistakable Voice, fell immediately to their knees.
Consider the red letters. As I jumped in my devotions to Matthew, I found the red letters extremely significant. Jesus is speaking… the Voice is presenting truth, comfort, peace…
Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
The quelling of anxiety comes with instruction on how to not be troubled. Spoiler alert, it’s not in your power to obtain… it’s “added unto you” by the One we seek.
-=Pastor Tom
“Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your saviour, your guide? If He is, you don’t need to search any further for security.” – Elisabeth Elliot