As Years Blend Together. 9.24.2026

    I know that I have shared my long-term preaching process in this space many times. I will work on my sermon calendar through the month of October. I start my “preaching year” with the Advent season and move through the following November. So, in a couple of weeks, I will begin working on my plan for December 2026 through November 2027. 

    I have also alluded to the fact that more than 40 years of preaching has created an enormous amount of work. Both final deliverables (pulpit copy) and work product (materials from the study, writing and editing process). Logos Bible Software does a decent job of keeping track of much of this work. For example, I am preaching from 1 John 3.1-3 on 9.27.2026. When I look in Logos it finds 1,018 results in 11 documents. That is basically 10 years’ worth of work. Scattered in notebooks, PDFs, and folders in various cloud-storage sites there is even more. That is a lot of material. And this is just what I have produced. This does not include secondary and tertiary studies, commentaries, introductory works, theological, worship, historical scholarship, or practical pastoral tomes. 

    One of the keys to an ongoing, expanding preaching ministry is remaining fresh as the years blend together. We don’t want to repeat ourselves, but we also don’t want to reinvent the wheel. Central to this process is determining what materials from the past should be reviewed and how to review them. 

    For example, good exegetical work rarely needs updated. Much of what I find when I look in Logos consists of old Sentence Flow/Exegetical documents. If I was attentive and careful when I did this work, it seldom needs to be repeated. A review of the document with an open Greek Text, taking a few hand-written notes tends to be a sufficient refresher. If I find that the work was done in haste, or if I have discovered new grammatical or syntactical materials that I want to test against my past work, then there may be a bit more. Otherwise, this review can go rather quickly. This falls into the category of not reinventing the wheel.  

    On the other hand, sound, accurate exegesis can be adapted into several different message strategies or arcs. Reviewing the messages themselves can take a little more time because I need to recollect the congregational conditions under which the message was preached. I need to look at the overall theme of the sermon series. I need to find out what the bigger picture was into which the smaller picture of the individual sermon fit(s). I may need to simply look at my calendar to see what was going on in the congregation’s life. In that context I often find well-crafted, reusable writing that can be repurposed. 

    This time through 1 John I am preaching 5 sermons. One per chapter. That’s it. No matter how far down in the weeds I get I have set an external “timer” on this series. When I look at the older material, I am mostly looking to trace the trajectory from text to sermon to make sure I don’t take the same tack this time through. What the text says does not change. How we address the congregation does. I want to be clear and expressive, and I don’t want to become boring or predictable; both of which can have a negative impact on the reception of the sermon. 

    A key to preaching is balancing what people expect from a sermon with how the preacher develops the material and presents it. This is not a reader-centered, post-modern approach to the task. This is the basic, hard work that keeps both the preacher and the congregation fresh. And if we wish to have long, fruitful ministries we need to accept the fact that it will grow somewhat more difficult as we grow older and preach to the same congregation over many years. 

    Forty-two years ago, when I started to preach, I didn’t realize that this would ever be a factor. I was a whole lot smarter when I was 22 than I am now. Now I am acutely aware of what I do not know, what I have not read, issues I have not considered, and applications that are unexplored. I was a genius 40 years ago, now I am ever a novice. The best way to keep fresh is to keep at the work. The best way to keep the years from blending together in a context-less soup is to make sure that this Sunday’s sermon explains this text to this congregation—now. 

    As I turn my thoughts to 2027, I will try to be cognizant of that as I sketch out the big picture concepts for a whole year. I will make notes to myself of issues I need to consider as I go back through my previous work. I will examine my bibliographical materials and see whether and what materials I relied on the last time I went through specific texts—what needs to be reconsidered, what needs to be abandoned. The only way to remain truly fresh in the pulpit is to make sure that you preach what the text says in your current context. When we do that, we will discover a freedom that keeps us focused and free from anxiety. 

    One final chronological thought. As I get older, I realize that I have fewer sermon calendars left to craft. It would be easy to look back at what I did 10 years ago and simply re-title, re-date, and re-type the same work. It might be easier, but that does not make it right. The call to preach is the call to study. Pastoral ministry is Word-focused, and we have to be in the Word to have power. Yes, we must familiarize ourselves with what we did in the past, but then we need to keep that specific presentation; be it sermon, lesson, or essay in the past. We may adapt, revise, and update the material for a new context and in so doing we are necessarily preparing old words for new opportunities.  The Master is watching. He calls us to be good stewards and faithful workmen. Do the work. Do it conscientiously. Do it well. Make it fresh. Someone will hear you tell the story of Jesus from the texts you will be preaching for the very first time. When that happens, the years will all fade away and you’ll feel again the pleasure of our great God who called you to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Shoring things Up a bit 9.17.2026

     Not every single thing is critical. Every job has tasks that are helpful but not central, useful but not critical, good but not the best. When the “good” things begin to overwhelm the best, when the edges compress the center and keep you from being your best; then it is time to recalibrate and shore things up a bit. 

Consideration

    It may be a pile, a stack, or a list but you need to get things written down on paper and screen. The papers that need sorted, the deeds done, words to be written, people to be visited. Don’t try and remember it. If you really want to get those ducks lined up, then do it—line them up. 

    Write things down. Make charts and tables—surely, you have a ruler. Use your computer, use a note pad, use index cards. Sometimes we need to get the outstanding tasks before us so that we can clearly see how things are related. You can’t shore things up until and unless you make a clear, considered distinction between what needs to be done and what must be done. 

Consolidation

    When you are lining up all those ducks you may find that not all are equal. In fact, while reflecting, thinking, and considering what you need to do you will likely find you are fretting over things that are not actually things. Or perhaps they are not relevant. Maybe they have expired. It is also likely that some independent tasks are actually smaller steps to completing larger projects. Again, you must look critically at things and sort out their relationships to draw the right conclusion(s).

    At this point you can begin to consolidate some things. There is nothing like eliminating things from your list by combining similar items. You may even find that this process of consolidation saves time because the combination of tasks takes fewer steps. 

Delegation

    Another sure way to shore things up is to hand off items that you don’t need to be doing. Delegation frees up mental and physical energy by taking off your plate those things that never should have been there I the first place. 

    Once things are added to your to-do list it can be very difficult to remove them. Setting aside regular time for delegation can be essential to your mental health. Don’t do those things others can and should do. 

Elimination

    You cannot say “no” until you really understand what your central purpose is and feel comfortable saying yes to the best practices that allow you to pursue that purpose. The problem isn’t that saying no can appear negative; the issue is that always saying yes betrays confusion. 

    Taking an afternoon to go over everything—reviewing lists, calendars, complete work can do wonders for remembering what it is you are doing as a preacher. Once you really know “why” it becomes much easier to say “no.” And when you know what your “no” is you can go back over your schedule and cut out those things which distract and divert you. 

    Most preachers are not very good at saying no. It takes many years and a compulsive focus on what is essential to say no without it being perceived as unduly negative. If we are forthright with our congregation and leadership, they will learn to understand that in a well-planned ministry there will be many tasks, good as they may be that should not be on our plate. In that case “no” often means better alignment with gifts, skills, and opportunities. Things the preacher or professional staff do, which can be done by others should be done by others. 

    Shoring things up is not just abandoning tasks to others. It also gives us the chance to consider what needs done next year, or even the following year. A good plan should be a look forward, based upon a considered, critical look at the past.

Pennant Drive 9.10.2026

    As you might have guessed I’ve been pretty busy the last few weeks. Sometimes the changing vicissitudes of ministry require a bit of a readjustment of plans. As a result, my time for these blog posts got away from me over the last couple of weeks. In doing a bit of a debrief of that time I think it is important to clearly name a couple issues. Prior to that let me say that I didn’t miss any consequential deadlines. Though I spend time on these essays and I find them both personally helpful and potentially useful to others, they are not the most important issues before me. 

However, there are, as I mentioned a couple of things that need to be available for these essay/blog posts to be productive. 

1. Time to think. Much writing fails not because it is poorly written but because it is not adequately thought through. I had over 700 words written for the last week of August. Yet when I went back over them to edit and revise, I realized that in my haste to write I had under thought. Not much use in editing out 720 of 744 words. In preparing work for the pulpit—and other emergency considerations such as funeral messages one must prioritize not only the words on the page but the time to think through what one will say. Those materials from the last week of August may be recoverable but first there must be time to think.

2. Time to Write. It comes in this order. If the thinking does not precede the writing you end up with the situation I landed in. A lot of words but not nearly much sense. Essays like these are a great opportunity to work on my writing skills, but as I alluded to earlier, preaching and teaching take priority. In a compressed timeframe (while also reserving time for rest) one must make decisions. I decided at the end of August that prior to writing I needed to review the rest of 2026’s Blog Essay Schedule before I thought another thought or wrote another word. Having accomplished that thinking over the long weekend I am now ready to get back to the pen work. 

    It is a little like getting ready for the pennant drive. September is upon us. There are only so many opportunities left. How are the starters? Do I have slumping hitters I will need to rely on? Does someone need a day off? Well considered decisions at the beginning of September may yield fruit later, as the season ends or even later when the playoffs start.

Something like that needs to happen during the course of the preaching year. The preacher occasionally gets tired, overwhelmed, or distracted by inessential issues. Labor Day weekend has, for me, been a great opportunity to recalibrate things and get ready for the pennant drive. 

I was able to lay out the rest of the year’s blog titles. I spent a little time considering the central events in September, October, and November. I even looked at what I wrote last year as the danger of repeating oneself during the fall seems to increase. After doing that and explaining my recent absence I feel like I’m back on schedule. I might have spent a couple of late nights trying to “fix” things and I would have become frustrated. I would have written hundreds of words that I would later discard because they would sound hurried, harried, and ill-considered. 

It’s not like I was idle. During the very time I was “falling behind” I read something like 15 fiction and non-fiction books. They were refreshing and helped to recalibrate my brain far more than rapidly writing words that would later be excised causing even greater frustration than not writing them in the first place. 

A preaching year, not unlike baseball, is a long, leveling season. To be at our best for as much of the time as possible we need a broad approach. We must think logistically, tactically, and strategically. We don’t want to run out of energy, we don’t want to wander under-prayed, under-thought, under-prepared, or under-considered. Every sermon, lesson, or essay needs to have something worth saying—and worth the time of our auditor or listener. 

    I’ve mostly worked through this busy season. I’m still a day late for this week but I had workable words several days ago, so editing was merely a matter of cleaning up rather than starting over. Where are you in this year’s continuing journey to pulpit or paper? Are you clarifying your objectives or flailing? I highly recommend some time to think then get back to the business of writing and preaching effective, Biblical sermons.

Horsing Around Essay for 8.20.2026

     Preaching connects people with God through the clear, accurate teaching of Scripture. While all preaching should be accurate and strive for clarity, the connecting part is where we often run aground. 

    There are a couple of reasons. First, some preachers sacrifice clarity for connection. They are all about the congregations preconceived notions of spirituality, culturally derived identity markers, or psychologically satisfying distractions. We’re not talking about that sort of preaching. It is so anchored in the audience and its perceived needs that it is virtually impossible for it to be Biblically clear and accurate. There are many things in Scripture that are opaque and many things in Scripture that challenge our self-understanding. This sort of preaching may grow churches, but it doesn’t result in maturing disciples. 

    A second issue is preaching that never thinks about the congregation at all.  It is so accurate that clarity becomes difficult if not impossible. It fails to translate the realities of the ancient text into manageable categories of the contemporary world. 

    Neither of these scenarios produces connection which often results in a Shakespearian tragedy or a Kafkaesque comedy. Some church “leaders” even wonder if the time for preaching is past. The problem is that the thing they question isn’t really preaching. It leaves out the purpose of the endeavor in the first place; connection. 

    Our question then, is how do we bridge this gap? How do we make a connection with our listeners when they have both eyes on phone, tablet, or computer? How do we get a hearing amid the cacophony of contemporary society? The quick answer? You’re going to have to get better. The long answer? I’m glad you asked.

    Let’s consider the question before us using the metaphor of horses. I like horses. I watch a lot of horse racing. There is nothing more beautiful than the moment when a Thoroughbred racehorse begins to reach forward, pins its ears, and extend its neck to attain full speed. That is but one kind (we’re not focused on breeds) of horse. And when it comes to preaching, it is the first of several poor models. Consider the following “stable” if you will. Some of these horses should be permanently put out to pasture if we wish to truly improve our preaching. 

Racehorses

    There are some preachers who see the study as a racecourse. They enter the starting stalls (perpetually worried about more important things in their ministry, as if ministry had more important tasks than preaching) chomping at the bit to work as fast as they possibly can to complete the course. They want to get that sermon done ASAP.  In this case, finishing should not mean fast, it should mean best possible. 

    Racehorse preachers write sermons so fast that they have no time for editing, redrafting, reframing, rethinking, or reconsidering anything. Racehorse preachers perpetually preach first drafts and work from a vocabulary limited by their haste. 

    It takes time to connect with culture. It takes time to understand what is going on in the world. It takes careful observation to grasp the real problems amid the articulated complaints of the modern world. It can’t be done quickly. Every sermon is different but each one draws upon our entire life’s experience to frame it and tint it with color. Racehorse preaching is so intent on finishing that the jockey (I apologize for mixing the metaphor) flails away frantically when, as they say, the horse has come off the bit. 

    We need to retire the Racehorse. We don’t finish our sermon first among our tasks of the week because it is of least (or secondary) importance but because it is the most important task of the week and deserves our best energy. We need stamina to make many passes through the text cutting, trimming, adding, editing, and refining the message so that the message given to us by God’s Holy Spirit reflects the tale told in the text impacting the story in the pew. 

High Horses

    Too many preachers have a list of materials they won’t read, places they won’t go, movies they won’t see, or restaurants where they won’t eat. Generally, this self-selected intellectual ghetto is the result of the next kind of horse—the High Horse. And as you might guess my advice is simple. Dismount. If possible, take it out back and forever release it into the wild. If absolutely necessary, put it down. The preacher who begins his work by declaiming all the things she won’t do, places he won’t, go books he won’t read, or music she won’t listen to--needs to take a good, hard look at a little thing called…the Gospels.

    Read everything. Even what makes you uncomfortable. Listen to a wide variety of music. When you hear a song that strikes you as odd or even culturally significant listen to it intently, google the artist, find out where they are coming from. Go into interesting, unique stores and boutiques that cater to tastes different than yours. Cinema, streaming platforms, social media, comedians, are other cultural bell-weathers. If you don’t know where the culture is, what the pressure points are, what specific issues are becoming sinfully debilitating how will you address the culture and say what it needs to hear?

Generally High Horses are either excuses or disguises. 

Hobby Horses

    The next threat is the Hobby Horse. These are the topics, themes, tropes, or concepts that we use so frequently that we beat them—even after the horse is dead. Hobby Horses are often stabled alongside racehorses and high horses. Hobby horses distract us from exegetical and hermeneutical heavy lifting and astute cultural observation. 

    There are many important truths in Scripture. People need to know them all, but some need to be better known than others. A couple of years ago I preached a book sermon from the Song of Solomon. I announced to the congregation that I’d not likely ever preach from that book again. Yes, it’s Scripture, but there are more essential truths to be covered in my limited remaining time.  Choose wisely where you will focus. Make sure that your life’s work is not a mere list of Hobby Horses that you can’t get off your mind. 

    The best antidote to saddling up Hobby Horses is to preach exegetical, expository preaching. If you want to take a more topical approach to your broader calendar, fine just make sure you are always operating “text-egetically” explaining and applying the clear meaning of scripture. Most Hobby Horse preaching begins with the congregation and what it “might need.” When you begin with the text it will determine the emphasis. 

Plow Horses

    What we really need is plow horses. They are not as sleek as racehorses, require more depth than high horses, have greater impact than hobby horses. Plow horses work. Plow horses are harnessed up to get the job done. They may move slowly but they are efficient and effective. 

    Generally, plow horses, after a few years know the job so well that they don’t need lots of direction. They saddle themselves up (It’s a metaphor for crying out loud!) and get to work. They recognize that some fields require different levels of work than others. They are not offended or frightened by diverse kinds of work because they know that is simply how the world is. Plow horses bend the neck, waste little energy, and get the job did. 

    What the Church needs right now are plow horses. Racehorses, High Horses, and Hobby Horses are all varieties of prima donnas. They are more focused on self than service. They have many definitions of failure and are risk averse. Plow horses have no pride. They just work. 

    The scenario I am sketching here is not only a full-time job—it’s your life. Preachers are always grazing for material. We are always looking for solid, contemporary, culturally relevant connections. That means we need our ears and eyes to be attuned to the culture.

Thoughts 8.13.2026

     I mentioned last week that when I need refreshed that thinking and reading help me to get my edge back. Five novels in the last 4 days. Check! Now, about the thinking. Stuff happens. I had hoped to spend some sequestered time in the easy chair in my study. Alas, there were places to go and people to see. Where and when does one find time to let the mind wander? How does one find the opportunity to ease the mental tension. Briefly, a couple of suggestions.

    First, you can think when you are driving. I had to make a trip to the city (Evansville) last Monday. I worked through some preaching and pastoral issues that needed thought through. The only caveat is that one should not take notes when one is driving. I was able to mentally review some of the highlights that would be written up in my board report and even to “game plan” some approaching sermon/writing issues. 

Second, I did some personal reviewing. I’ve spoken and written about this periodically, but I did a deeper, more specific dive this week. The longer you preach and teach the more of your own material you squirrel away. I know that I will be writing a funeral sermon over the next couple of days—and I’m not interested in repeating entire sermons. I am, however, culling my previous sermons for turns of phrase, expressions, sequence of words that can be used in other contexts. In some contexts, this would be called “boilerplate” text. I’d like to think it is a bit more than that. What I am trying to assemble is well-written prose that can be re-purposed. If I was looking at the work of others, I would be clipping usable quotations that could be used and cited. The only difference is that it is my own work that I’m considering. Here is an example from a previous funeral message that will be suitable in many other contexts. 

“The Goal: 

       Guide you with Scripture,

            Focus on Christ, 

                  Give you hope,

                       Provide perspective,

                           Remind you of the Promise

                                   of Eternal life.”

    That’s exactly how it looks on the page. It is a transitional section; I’m simply stating to the congregation what my purpose is in preaching this (funeral) sermon at this moment. An additional goal is to ensure that I don’t promise too much. I’m there to use scripture to talk about the hope we have in Jesus. That’s the focus of a funeral message. 

    I know that there are many other well written phrases in the thousands of pages I have written. It is a more direct and practical sort of thinking than I had originally intended but it is different in focus than weekly work. The fact is that we have to relax as best we can. Sleep in a little, find a satisfactory diversion, get a good night’s sleep and continue with the mission.

Refreshment 8.6.2026

    Last week was busy with camp and other pastoral and professional issues, so it is good to be back to a more normal routine. Mrs. Beckman and I are pretty much homebodies. For me that means coming down from the Parsonage on the Hill to spend time in my study which is my home away from home. The times and places flow according to my normal routines, but the work is not coming quite as easily this week. 

    As you might guess there was a lot of catching up to do. And I still seem to be having some difficulty   fighting off long-term fatigue. While I may not be flailing per se, I’m also taking a bit longer to get my “chores” done. I don’t like to get off schedule, but I am getting a bit bogged down this week by issues which should not be so tiresome. Some of you might think “It’s because you’re getting old!” Which may be true. A part of it also comes down to a no time for the kind of work I find refreshing.

    Refreshing work consists of things that you not only enjoy but that you also find invigorating They get the blood flowing. They get you engaged. They connect different parts of your brain and help to create intellectual and spiritual alignment.  

     With your permission of course, let me share a couple of things with you that I find refreshing during times like these. To help recalibrate the gray matter for the more important work. 

 Read

    How helpful can it be, how relaxing and refreshing to read—when your job revolves around reading and writing? Very helpful indeed if you find something different to absorb your attention for a brief time. I have collected a nice little stash of novels to read which I expect to help restore my edge. 

    Novels? Why? How? To what end? Yes. Because they combine entertainment and engagement. To what end? Getting the ol’ motor running. I’ve still got work percolating along, but when the mental engine backfires it is time to provide different fuel. 

    I am pretty promiscuous when it comes to reading. I like history, biography, novels, historical fiction. This is not a good time to be too picky—though I do have a particular author and focus for the rest of the summer. Most of this material will yield no notes—no pithy quotations, no memorable anecdotes. Reading is better than most movies and it keeps the blood flowing in the brain. I also like cinema. However, when you’re tired movies can provide too great an opportunity to simply fall asleep. 

Think

    “Don’t you think when you study? When you prepare? As you preach?” Yes. Yes. And Yes. Not all thinking is created equal. When fatigued you need to relax the intellectual muscles without relying on the sugary sweets of TV and social media. Mrs. Beckman and I do have certain shows we like to watch, and I like entertaining movies, but sometimes you just need to think. Maybe doodle a little, nothing too complicated. Maybe a brief, squiggly outline something simple while using your brain to do the thing it was created for—thinking. 

    As ministers we are generally either dipping the bucket into the well or filling the well. We pour things in; we draw things out. In, out. In, out. Every week. The study provides material for our life’s work. The sermon or lesson the is the weekly embodiment of that work. We have both input and output. What about the process that moves us from the study to the pulpit? It’s not automatic. It should be thoughtful, intentional, directed, and purposeful. Yet much of the time we are so deadline driven that we have no time for the creative intellectual play that is essential for continued growth. Don’t get me wrong. We need to be ready for Sunday’s sermon or Thursday’s article. However, at some point the well we have filled to overflowing will begin to get cloudy and stagnant because we are filling and drawing but never stirring. Thinking is stirring the water’s so that they don’t grow murky or cloudy. 

And with that…I’m off to clear the water with a novel. Cheers.

Origins 7.30.2026

     Most of my post-college life I have had a pocket copy of the US Constitution. Though it is not a document of divine origin, in no way scriptural or inherently moral, it is the “rule book” for the American Experiment, and this a good thing to know. The Constitution is a political blueprint for a new kind of nation. This very human document, like all writing, was a creature of the time of its composition.  But because the founders were pretty smart, it included the processes for its own expansion and emendation. 

    My interest is the exegesis and application of scripture, so I thought you might be wondering “Why these thoughts on Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit?” I wanted to provide a couple of lines about the origins of this month’s writing, and it comes back to that old, now lost copy of the constitution and a new copy I recently obtained. 

    If you follow anything I write you know I am a big notebook carrier and note-taker. My brand is Field Notes notebooks. There are two current (big and small) books on my desk right now, along with a desk diary and a stack of filled books I keep around for reference. Also, there is the box of a new notebook design from the Field Notes folk that I only purchased because it came with a premium copy of The Founding Documents: The Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States. So, the genesis of this July’s writing was a consideration of some of the cardinal thoughts of the founding documents of the USA, in light of parallel Biblical vocabulary. One might think of this as applied theology. I would also describe it as nitty-gritty theology. 

    The 250th birthday of our country came at the beginning of the month. Just about the time that my copy of the Founding Documents arrived. I browsed through them, hit some of the highlights and reflected on some of the core elements which are often thought to derive from a Biblical mindset. The 18th century may not have had the internet but that does not mean that it was not a connected and complex society. The 13 colonies were highly literate and filled with men who had drunk deeply at the well of the Enlightenment. The colonies were also an experimental hodgepodge of theological reflection and religious practice. Some of the colonies (Massachusetts) had and would continue to have established (that is tax-supported State) Churches until the 19th century. Other colonies (Pennsylvania) were founded with no State Church and full freedom of religion. In all the colonies there were “freethinkers” and devout believers everywhere. Sometimes both extremes existed in the same person. 

    Reading these documents reminds us that the past is truly a different country and we must go there warily lest we carry the baggage of our own prejudices back with us. A national birthday celebrates both the achievements of the past and the possibilities of the future. But the celebration is right now. We can afford neither to fritter away the accumulated wisdom of the past nor steal the unknown achievements of the future. We must live here. We must live now. 

For the believer it is a question of balance. I come back over and again to the second century letter to Diognetus…

“They live in their own countries, but as aliens. They share in everything as citizens and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign country is ⌊their country⌋, and every country is foreign.” Rick Brannan, trans., The Apostolic Fathers in English (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).

    Sometimes I fear that the contemporary Church has lost this balance. We have become too comfortable.  I am afraid that we wish, not to blend in but to edit out the complexity, variety, and diversity of the world. The choice between cowardice and conquest is not one that Jesus offers nor endorses. I am afraid that we have mistaken a profound blessing for a new purpose. The purpose of the Church is unaltered. It doesn’t matter if you live in Alabama, Illinois, Albania, Italy, or Washington DC. Our job is to make disciples, proclaim the gospel, lift Jesus, care for the broken, pursue the Kingdom. The Bible is the Kingdom document. Not the Constitution. Let’s let the last word come from Jesus. 

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33 ESV)