Above Everything Else
Dearest Father, Thank You that when I concern myself above everything else with Your Kingdom and with what You require of me, You will provide me with everything else I need and even want. As written in the Gospel today.
If you want weekly inspiration and actionable steps from the Word of God to help you live the rich life in Christ, subscribe to SpeakChrist Lovenote and get started today.
[31] But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in Him, you may have life (John 20:31 GNBDK) - the rich and satisfying life in Christ. (John 10:10 NLT)
Today's Readings
First Reading: Second Corinthians 12: 1-10
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 34: 8-9, 10-11, 12-13
Alleluia: Second Corinthians 8: 9
Gospel: Matthew 6: 24-34
Reading I
[1] I have to boast, even though it doesn't do any good. But I will now talk about visions and revelations given me by the Lord.
[2] I know a certain Christian man who fourteen years ago was snatched up to the highest heaven (I do not know whether this actually happened or whether he had a vision — only God knows).
[3-4] I repeat, I know that this man was snatched to Paradise (again, I do not know whether this actually happened or whether it was a vision — only God knows), and there he heard things which cannot be put into words, things that human lips may not speak.
[5] So I will boast about this man — but I will not boast about myself, except the things that show how weak I am.
[6] If I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will not boast, because I do not want anyone to have a higher opinion of me than he has as a result of what he has seen me do and heard me say.
[7] But to keep me from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw, I was given a painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan's messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud.
[8] Three times I prayed to the Lord about this and asked him to take it away.
[9] But his answer was: “My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.” I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me.
[10] I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for nought is lacking to those who fear him.
The great grow poor and hungry;
but those who seek the LORD want for no good thing.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Come, children, hear me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Which of you desires life,
and takes delight in prosperous days?
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
[24] “No one can be a slave of two masters; he will hate one and love the other; he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
[25] “This is why I tell you not to be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn't life worth more than food? And isn't the body worth more than clothes?
[26] Look at the birds: they do not sow seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds?
[27] Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?
[28] “And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves.
[29] But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers.
[30] It is God who clothes the wild grass — grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burnt up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? How little faith you have!
[31] “So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’
[32] (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.
[33] Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.
[34] So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.
Dearest Father,
Thank You that when I concern myself above everything else with Your Kingdom and with what You require of me, You will provide me with everything else I need and even want. As written in the Gospel today
Matthew 6:33 GNBDK
[33] Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.
Recently, I shared in SpeakChrist Diaries that I'm getting back into sourdough baking to have bread that I don't have to buy.
So I have been reviewing videos that I compiled before regarding sourdough baking.
Yesterday, I watched this video about this man who changed his job from an office worker to a baker, with his own small bakeshop at his home, so he can find freedom and the time to do all the other things he loves - gardening that provides for his family and playing music with his friends.
What's amazing is he just works for 2 days, baking. He allows his loyal customers to write their orders in a notebook so he knows exactly how many to make on his bake days. He leaves the money basket on the table for his customers to put in their payments and get their change themselves so he doesn't touch money and his baked goods at the same time,
He doesn't even check the money in the evening because he doesn't want to worry about money and this has really blessed him. He never had any money problems, is able to provide for his family, has time for all the things he enjoys like gardening, playing music, and spending time with family and friends, and enjoying his job as a baker, making his bread days a great joy.
I suddenly remembered that's what I want too. To have the freedom from having to work for and worry about money, to have everything I need, and even have the abundance of wealth and time to give myself to every good work I enjoy and like.
He reminded me that our jobs should give us freedom, not enslave us.
His job as a baker gave him that - free time to garden and make music with friends
My job as an online virtual assistant, proofreading and editing for a tech media company, actually gives me this freedom to work whenever I want wherever I want.
But because I have debts and obligations to pay, I have to find money as much as I can.
The Lord today is reminding me of what I should be concerned about above everything else.
To live every day seeking God's Kingdom and what He requires of me. And everything else will He provide for me.
I want financial and time freedom to write about the rich and satisfying life Jesus has given me and share His goodness to others; to buy land huge enough so I can garden and grow organic vegetables and fruits as well as raise tilapia fish for our family consumption with some surplus to sell; to bake yummy sourdough goodies like artisan breads, pizza, and cookies for me and my family to enjoy and hopefully to sell as well in my own small bakeshop, with my online job and business providing me passive and active income so that I'm able to be, do, and have all these things I want.
This verse from the Responsorial Psalm today really spoke to me. I particularly like this version from the site catholiconline.org.
Psalm 34:12 Who among you delights in life, longs for time to enjoy prosperity?
Time to enjoy prosperity and delight in life?
Me! Count me in!
But I also want to be famous and known worldwide for something that inspires and encourages others.
Not celebrity famous like Blackpink but influence famous like Warren Buffett who lives in the same old house he had for years, drives his old car to work, drives thru Mcdonald’s for breakfast, has only a trusted staff of 25 members for 30 plus years helping make his life easy yet has a business and influence that is known worldwide.
Like Warren Buffet, I don't want to be bothered running a big worldwide corporation.
I just want financial and time freedom to be, do, and, have whatever I want, whenever I want as well as have a business and lasting legacy that is able to bless my family and friends as well as billions of people in my generation and for generations to come.
I know these desires are given to me by God Himself and so it's ok for me to desire them. And the Law of Assumption, which I now call my Law of Faith, according to Matthew 11:24, said that the moment I desire these and ask for these is the moment I already have these.
Mark 11:24 NIV
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
So even now I'm already thanking God for giving my desires to me in faith. In the spiritual realm. In God's Kingdom where all things are possible.
All I need to do now is surrender these desires to God, when and how He will make these manifest in my physical reality, and concern myself everyday with seeking Him and doing exactly what He requires of me.
The guy in the video found what God called him to do, the “vertical”, in his words - to bake - and found what he wants most of all - freedom and time to garden and provide for his family and make music with his friends.
Our saint today, Aloysius Gonzaga, found his purpose in life - to love God and serve Him in others as a priest. God honored him and made his name known as a Saint generations after he died.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, a Filipino young boy was forced by his circumstances to go with missionary priests to a foreign land bearing the good news of Jesus Christ. When they were attacked, he gave his life to protect the priests whom he served.
Decades later, his unknown life story was dug up when the priests’ life story were investigated as martyrs of the Church and now he's honored as the second saint of the Filipino Catholic church, patron saint of Filipino youths.
Solomon asked for wisdom to rule God's vast people. God not only gave him wisdom but also wealth, treasure, and fame besides.
The priest in his homily said something that really struck me.
What do we want?
We want fame, but God says if you pray, no one must know; if you give, no one must know.
We want to be great, but God says whoever wants to be great should be the servant of many.
We want to first, but God says whoever wants to be first shall be last.
What God wants is very different from what we want. And His Kingdom works differently than the earth-curse system of painful toil and sweat we are born into in this world.
The world says we need to look out for ourselves and our interests first. We need to hustle and strive to get the dreams we want. As my online boss always says, “There is no free lunch.” No one is just going to hand you riches, success, and such.
That's the world economy.
God’s economy is different. He says:
Matthew 6:33 GW
[33] But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you.
I love what Jesus said before this as recorded in the Message bible so let me share it with you, in closing.
Matthew 6:30-34 MSG
[30-33] “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. [34] “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
What is God doing in you right now? Are you paying attention?
If you want to have everything that you dream of, seek God and His Kingdom first every day. How? Live in Christ. Join me in our SpeakChrist RichLife Club. We'll do it together. St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
Live the RichLife in Christ today 🤟
Above everything else
Seek God first.
Know His Kingdom
And what He requires of you.
And everything else He'll give you besides.
Free 🎁 for you.
Above everything else.
Seek God first,
In your heart, in your life.
He'll give you everything else.
Say Amen! 🙏
Matthew 6:33 GNBDK
[33] Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.
Now Your Turn
(Questions to ask yourself when scripture journaling)
What verses spoke to me strongly and powerfully from the scripture readings?
What is God saying to me in these verse or verses?
What does God want me to do today?
Journal prompts of the day
Are you seeking God’s Kingdom first every day, above everything else?
Do you pay attention to what God is doing right now, above everything else?
Are you giving God what He requires of you, above everything else?
Your Actionable Steps to Do This Week:
Seek God first, above everything else
Pay attention to what God is doing right now in your life, above everything else.
Give what God requires of you, everyday, above everything else.
Let us pray:
If you want to live the rich life in Christ every day - never worrying about anything, just paying attention to God and what He’s doing in your life right now - give your life to Jesus.
That’s the first step.
Say this prayer with me:
Dearest Father,
Forgive me of my sins. I receive Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for making me now Your child and heir, with power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory, and blessing. Thank You that in Christ, I only have to be concerned above everything else with Your kingdom and what You require of me and everything else You will give me.
In Jesus’ Name.
This is it for now. Until next time.
Vivo dives vitae in Christo. Live the RichLife in Christ.
P.S
Join our SpeakChrist RichLife Club
Helping dreamers, like me, live the RichLife in Christ daily so we can go from being tired doubters and dabblers to becoming thankful believers and doers consistently achieving what God wants us to be, do, and have, without struggle, totally blessed and blessing others.