“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
Matthew 6:26 NKJV
I often picture Jesus standing and gently sharing truths for humans during the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. The birds of the air that find food in many places because Our Heavenly Father feeds them. They don’t gather into our barns.
Jesus had just taught us how to pray;
Vs 9 of Matthew 6 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
Then I picture various birds we might see today like this domesticated bird and think WOW how did God allowed us to see this beauty.
Bird enjoying the streets and eateries of Key West Fl. 2026 (Photo by Chris Mar)
I read this week in my devotional these words CAC’s online course The Divine Exchange, Cynthia Bourgeault considers one of Jesus’s parables through the lens of interconnection and abundance. “Jesus continues to heap on metaphor after metaphor: Behold the lilies of the field, behold the sparrow, behold the hairs of your head. He creates a picture of a kingdom where every single piece, no matter how humble, is known and supported. He ends with “Do not be afraid, little flock. It is my Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
Now imagine the beauty Our Heavenly Father sees in you, me and all humans He created.
Vs 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Jeremiah’s words recorded by Baruch. “And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the Lord. “But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.” (Jeremiah 45:5 NKJV)
(Matthew :6 vs 24) “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
I love the parables Jesus taught, don’t you? I’m not sure I have mastered the truth wrapped in these stories of such small and what might be called insignificant things giving us a messsge that works better that fear, anxiety and our egos!
Summer is almost here. Might just be a good time to chill out and glean the benefits that await us from an odd but simple thought. Have we tried counting the hairs on our heads? It’s probably not as many as the times spent flipping it and wondering how we look? Why bother with the lilies of the field? What might they tell us?
thedailylily.com 
Why bother with the lilies of the field? What might they tell us? The hairs on our head? The Apostle Paul might have wondered also when he prayed;
“I pray that you and all God’s people will understand what is called wide or long or high or deep. I want you to know-all about Christ’s love, although it is too wonderful to be measured. Then your lives will be filled with all that God is.” Ephesians 3:18-19 CEVUK
One of the interesting features of God’s Word is that the farther you look into the parables, stories, the images, the larger things become rather than smaller.
It is too wonderful to be measured. We rest on the truth of the Word of God! We read, think and mediate on this depth and by faith believe the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.
This is why I bother to look at the field lilies and other uncountable things.
“Look at the birds “… What a great photo by Chris Mar of this stunning bird! His camera lens captured the vast array of colors and patterns that seem to illustrate what Sara wrote,
“Cynthia Bourgeault considers one of Jesus’s parables through the lens of interconnection and abundance.”
The caption under the photo also lets us know that this bird can “find food in many places”.
Sara asks, “Why bother with the lilies of the field? What might they tell us?”
When thinking about lilies of the field, I think of daylilies. Though my first thought is about the orange ones that seem to be so prolific, they also come in an abundance of many other beautiful color schemes, beautifying gardens and landscapes. This indicates to me how diverse God is as an artist and brings us to the name of this very website, “The Daily Lily”, with theme scripture, “Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28”. Reading the entire scripture context it says, “And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
Interestingly, though these lilies have multiple flower buds over a period of several weeks during the summer, each flower bloom only lasts one day. Again, reminding me that our Daily Lily website provides beauty, food, abundance and interconnectedness daily!
I read online that almost the entire plant of the wild orange variety (Hemerocallis fulva) is edible. This characteristic as well as it’s unique one day bloom, reminds me of verse 11 in the Lord’s Prayer that Sara posted, “Give us today our daily bread.”
The footnotes for Jeremiah 45:5 says: (NLt)
”Baruch had long been serving this unpopular prophet, writing his book of struggles and judgments, and now he was upset. God told Baruch to take his eyes off himself and whatever rewards he thought he deserved. If Baruch did this, God would protect him. It is easy to lose the joy of serving our God when we take our eyes off him. The more we look away from God’s purposes toward our own sacrifices, the more frustrated we will become. As you serve God, beware of focusing on what you were giving up. When this happens, ask God’s forgiveness, then redirect your attention to the incomparable privilege of serving God.”
I sure need to stay busy keeping my focus on the Lord 🙏
Tammy’s Bible Footnotes; ”Baruch had long been serving this unpopular prophet, writing his book of struggles and judgments, and now he was upset. God told Baruch to take his eyes off himself and whatever rewards he thought he deserved.“
God told, Baruch, the note taker; “I have a few words for you!” These are what I might call fighting words that might sound like this in English, ‘do you think you deserve something more after serving a prophet that just wouldn’t forget my truth. You want to go in the city and get yourself a podcast and tell the people a message that would make them feel better about the things their flesh are longing for and make some of that big money that’s waiting for you when you drop the old weeping prophet’s message”? And, God heard Baruch’s thoughts and said, Notetaker, “Do Not DO It!
“And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them;”
Tammy’s footnotes might have an alarm clock built in that rings on time be anywhere one may be! Do Not Do it! Tammy, I must share some of us had the privilege of studying the prophets from the OT under the teachings of one of your spiritual mentors, Rev Reggie Webb. We can find his excellent teachings on the OT prophecies at: (see link below) Also, searching our teaching page and find many of his teachings on this site. Rev Reggie left us a few years ago to meet the Lord he spent his life living for and teaching about. Thank You Rev Reggie Webb of Edenton NC for leaving us with a library of teachings that for the ones that studied under you might remember with vivid thoughts of, “Do not”! May your memories, Reggie, be a blessing to many! 🙏
https://countrysidechurchofchrist.sermon.net/main/main/21415499