the pruned branch

Matthew 6:25-34
“So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life–whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes.  Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing?  Look at the birds.  They don’t need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them.  And you are far more valuable to him than they are.  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  Of course not!

And why worry about your clothes.  Look at the lilies and how they grow.  They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you?  You have so little faith!

So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing.  Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things?  Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. 

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.  Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Zechariah 8:6-8
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: all this may seem impossible to you now, a small and discouraged remnant of God’s people.  But do you think this is impossible for me, the Lord Almighty?  Thisi s what the Lord Almighty says:  You can be sure that I will rescue my people from the east and from the west.  I will bring them home again to life safely in Jerusalem.  They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God.”
Zech 9:16-17
“When that day arrives, the Lord their God will rescue his poeple, just as a shepherd rescues his sheep.  They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.  Hoe wonderful and beautiful they will be!  The young men and women will thrive on the abundance of grain and new wine.”