Luke 12:6-35

⁶Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? But God doesn't forget a single one of them.

⁷Even the hairs on your head have been counted. Don't be afraid—you're worth more than many sparrows!

⁸I tell you the truth, those who declare they belong to me, the Son of man will also declare they belong to him before God's angels,

⁹but those who deny me will be denied before God's angels.

¹⁰Everyone who speaks against the Son of man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

¹¹When you're brought to trial before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, don't worry about how to defend yourself, or what you should say.

¹²The Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what's important to say.”

¹³Someone in the crowd asked Jesus, “Teacher, please tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴“My friend,” Jesus replied, “Who appointed me as your judge to decide how your inheritance should be divided?” He told the people,

¹⁵“Watch out, and beware of all greedy thoughts and actions, for a person's life isn't summed up by all the things they own.”

¹⁶Then he told them a story as an illustration. “Once there was a rich man who owned land that was very productive.

¹⁷The man said to himself, ‘What shall I do? I've nowhere to store my crops.

¹⁸I know what I'll do,’ he decided. ‘I'll pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and then I'll be able to store all my crops and everything I own.

¹⁹Then I'll tell myself: You have enough to live on for many years, so take life easy: eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’

²⁰But God said to him, ‘You foolish man! Your life will be demanded back this very night, and then who will get everything you've stored up?’

²¹This is what happens to people who hoard up wealth for themselves but are not rich as far as God is concerned.”

²²Jesus told his disciples, “That's why I tell you don't worry about life, about what to eat, or about what clothes you should wear.

²³Life is about more than food, and the body is about more than wearing clothes.

²⁴Look at the ravens. They don't sow or reap, they don't have any storerooms or barns, but God feeds them. And you're far more valuable than birds!

²⁵Can you add an hour to your life by worrying about it?

²⁶If you can't do anything about such small things, why worry about the rest?

²⁷Think of the lilies and how they grow. They don't work, and they don't spin thread for clothes, but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was as beautifully dressed as one of them.

²⁸So if God clothes the fields with such beautiful flowers, which are here today but gone tomorrow when they are burned in a fire to heat an oven, how much more will God clothe you, you who have so little trust!

²⁹Don't be concerned about what you're going to eat or drink—don't worry about it.

³⁰These are all things that people in the world worry about, but your Father knows you need them.

³¹Search for God's kingdom, and you'll be given these things as well.

³²Don't be afraid, little flock, for your Father is happy to give you the kingdom.

³³Sell what you have, and give the money to the poor. Get yourselves purses that don't wear out: treasure in heaven that will never run out, where no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.

³⁴For what you value the most shows who you really are.

³⁵Be dressed and ready, and keep your lamps lit,