The central thing about the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship to Himself, not public usefulness to men.

Jesus is saying that the greatest concern of life is to place our relationship with God first, and everything else second. It is one of the most difficult, yet critical, disciplines of the Christian life to allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into absolute harmony with the teaching of Jesus in these verses.

The most important rule for us is to concentrate on keeping our lives open to God. Let everything else including work, clothes, and food be set aside.

In spiritual issues it is customary for us to put God first, but we tend to think that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to put Him first in the practical, everyday issues of our lives.

Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the Word He puts in us? Is it the devil? No—"the cares of this world" (Matthew 13:22). It is always our little worries.

Beware of competing calls once the call of God grips you.

Ask God for what you want and do not be concerned about asking for the wrong thing, because as you draw ever closer to Him, you will cease asking for things altogether.

We cannot discover the source of our natural life through common sense and reasoning, and Jesus is teaching here that growth in our spiritual life comes not from focusing directly on it, but from concentrating on our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father knows our circumstances, and if we will stay focused on Him, instead of our circumstances, we will grow spiritually—just as "the lilies of the field.

Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person's focus away from Jesus Christ.

Christian workers fail because they place their desire for their own holiness above their desire to know God.

The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God.

It is at the risk of our own soul's welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work