Author: Bill Hall

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 12:34

This is one of the most profound teachings of Christ. It is simple, straightforward, and seemingly obvious. But people don’t like to hear it. It reveals too much about us.

What is your motivation? What makes you do what you do? This is a very important question, one that many people fail to answer and some purposely avoid. Your heart is the inner core of you, who you really are. And what you treasure most defines you in many ways.

Heavenly Father, thank You for helping us to see ourselves. The mirror of Your Word is a blessing beyond description. We need only look into its pages to see who we really are on the inside. You are so merciful to allow us to have access to it! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Luke 12:33

Many who heard Jesus were likely fairly poor themselves. However, He had among His followers some who were well off as well.

The purpose here is not the redistribution of wealth. Jesus was not teaching an economic philosophy. He was teaching a heavenly focus. Riches here are transitory. But building the kingdom of God is a permanent investment.

Living one’s life just for the accumulation of physical wealth is a misuse of life. Living one’s life for the kingdom of heaven is a mission with the best future imaginable.

Heavenly Father, You are beautiful! You have made this world, and You know what potential it has. You will remake it, and You know why You have done all of this. Your wisdom and power are perfect and wonderful. Thank You for mercifully working in our lives! Thank You for Christ! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:32

Jesus here encourages His group of disciples. This small group was to become the core of the church.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your church! It is the source of so many blessings to our hearts in this age. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But seek his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you.

Luke 12:31

Our pursuit should be the furtherance of the will of God. We must put obedience to Him first before all else.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for leading our lives to the best end. We can be confident that You will provide our needs. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

Luke 12:30

Jesus is here addressing a predominantly, or completely, Jewish crowd. But we need not assume that He would say something different to a purely Gentile audience. The worldly pursuits are commonly shared among all people of the world.

The Father already has complete knowledge of all our needs. Prayer, for example is not meant to inform God of our needs. We only ask Him for things because He tells us to, not because He is unaware.

Heavenly Father, oh if only I understood my needs as well as You do! Thank You for always providing what I need rather than what I think I want. You are so wise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Don’t strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious.

Luke 12:29

Material sustenance is a means to an end, not the purpose of life. And anxious worry will only hurt and never help us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your truth! You teach us the best way to live. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he do for you—you of little faith?

Luke 12:28

Faith subsists of confidence that the will of the Lord God Almighty is in your best interest. This is what Jesus is affirming here. God cares for the brief life of the flowers of the field. So He will care for us.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your care, concern, and compassion. You are holy, just, faithful, and beneficent. I will praise You forever for Your wisdom! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.

Luke 12:27

God has given a special glory to each of His creations. The flowers seem to be inconsequential. And yet they are among the most beautiful things on this planet.

There are many things the Lord can give us that we can never get by labor. There are needs in our lives that we can never meet without His intervention. And, these are the most important things too. For example, joy, peace, patience, and real love.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the special things You put into our lives. We would never know what we were missing, and that would be so sad! You alone may make us whole. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest?

Luke 12:26

For many of us, adding a year to our life, or even an inch to our height, is not a ‘little’ thing. But, considering the fact that we cannot do it, how can we judge the relative difficulty of such an accomplishment?

Thus, Jesus is speaking mainly of the ability to do these things. If a person is unable to do these things, what would make us think we could change so many other things in our lives by way of worry? The rest, indeed all, is in His hands, not ours.

Heavenly Father, thank You for another day to serve You! You are the joy of our hearts. Thank You for delivering us from worry. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Can any of you add a cubit to his height by worrying?

Luke 12:25

We may have a growth that is worrisome. Maybe it is a hair in the wrong place, or a mole that mars our features. But, we cannot change it through worry any more than we can grow physically taller by that method.

The Lord knows our needs and sees all of our growth. He alone is able to manage these things with any certainty. Oh, the rich may succeed in changing their face or body, but the result is by no means guaranteed.

Worry is worthless. That must be our motto. And, remember, worry is a temptation for all of us, even if we say we never worry.

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving to us the hope that we can have in Christ. We do not have to live lives full of worry and anxiety. We can instead live in confident faith that You have everything under control. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.