And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. –Philippians 4:8

Jason M. Alexandre, Voices Against the Grain Devotional Writer

It can be easy to get carried away in our everyday respective professions. Routinely and often times mechanically we strive to complete our tasks day after day. While we must continue to earn a living using the talents and gifts given to us by God, losing sight of God’s love and the heavenly things he exhorts our minds to focus on can cause us to be stressed to the point of being overwhelmed into a depressive state. The apostle Paul admonished us in this passage of scripture for us to fix our thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable and to think about things that are excellent and worth of praise. For thinking on these heavenly things points our minds back in the direction of our heavenly father, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

That same Jesus Christ who thought it was necessary to die on the cross for my and your sins. That same Jesus Christ who promised he would never abandon us and would be with us until the end of the age. –Matthew 28:20  That same Jesus who told us not to worry about everyday life and to be devoted to God as opposed to being devoted to earning money. For he said in Matthew 6:24-34, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly father feeds them.

And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field 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 wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

The scripture couldn’t be any clearer. Don’t worry. Enjoy life in Christ and know that you have a God who cares for you knowing exactly what you’ll need for TODAY. Be blessed. Amen

 -Jason M. Alexandre

About Jason M. Alexandre

Jason Melchizedek Alexandre was born on November 29, 1989 in Brooklyn, New York. However, at two years old he and his family moved to Philadelphia, PA. Later, Jason moved to Limerick, PA where he now resides. Jason is currently working toward obtaining his Master of Social Work degree at Widener University. Although Jason’s career is Social Work, his spiritual passion is missions. Jason believes in actively answering the great commission call Jesus gave all Christians for the gospel to be spread from nation to nation. On a yearly basis, Jason primarily goes to Haiti on a mission trip with Haiti Christianity Inc. Each year Haiti Christianity visits different cities and/or villages in Haiti bringing children educational supplies, clothes, and medical supplies. They also facilitate conferences in which bible study, budgeting tips, financial planning and most importantly evangelization takes place. Jason is currently their public relations director. Jason’s vision is for the gospel to continue to be spread throughout the world and believes it is Christian’s responsibility to carry out this mission effectively.