Blessed Sunday to you all! Our Lenten study has been on becoming a house of prayer. This week the topic was anxiety. Pastor used the scripture verses from Matthew 6. These are the verses that speak of the lilies of the field and how God clothes even the birds of the air. If God does all of these things for grass, birds and flowers, how much more does our heavenly Father do for us?

We also looked at two of the psalms, Psalm 121 and 23. King David was a very anxious man because he could not control everything around him. So out of his anxiety David writes the wonderful psalm of the Lord being his shepherd. In David’s writing he writes about the peace he is desiring, “…For You are with me. Your rod and staff they comfort me.” And from Psalm 121, “My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” King David sought solace from the King of Kings. Do you suppose the psalms were David’s journal writing?

God is with us through our anxiety. Pastor Joel asked this question, “But do we really trust God?” Concern is something we can do that is concrete about how to fix the problem. But worry is like “driving the car with then emergency brake on.” The car is all revved up and ready to go, but sits frozen unable to move. That is worry. Worry is a wasted use of energy. Worry is an ungodly characteristic. Worry is irreverent because it tells God we cannot trust Him. Worry is irrelevant because it does not help to solve the problem. Worry is irresponsible because it burns up energy that can be used for something else. Pastor said, “worry is interest paid on something that isn’t due.” (I really liked that.) If we constantly worry about what might happen then we are not living a life of faith.

There are three helps we can use to worry less. First, make God our first priority. Begin the day with saying God I love you and thank you for loving me. I believe You are going to be with me all day no matter what. Second, Touch base with God throughout the day. Remember the children’s song that says, “Love Him in the morning when you see the sun rising. Love Him in the evening because He took you through the day. And in the in-between times when you feel the pressure coming, remember that He loves you and He promises to stay. Third, end your day with God. Each night after getting in bed I tell God that I have come to say good night. I often fall asleep in my prayers, but I always start. So friends take God at His Word. Count on His Word to be truth and trust Him in all things. Worry about nothing and pray about everything!

Take joy in the journey and have a wonderful week, friends. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.

PS Travis and the choirs come home tomorrow. The choir received Grand Champion awards at their competition in New York. Way to go LHS! At this writing Travis is on a dinner cruise. Did I already say that over the years our luggage has had a lot more fun than we have? Love you all, gc