SO YOU WANT TO PROSPER

When I moved into this area almost 50 years

ago I was being influenced by the "prosperity 

gospel".  You know, God wants you rich and

healthy etc.  If I had more money, I could put

more money into God's work, so my thinking

went.

But, ever since I moved here God has been 

shoving the thing of the "widow and her two

mites" under my nose.

"I tell you the truth,' Jesus said, 'this poor

widow has given more than all the rest of

them.  For they have given a tiny part of 

their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has

given everything she has."

(Luke 21:3,4 NLT)

Further Jesus said

"What sorrow awaits you who are rich,

for you have your only happiness now."

(Luke 6:24 NLT)

The other day when reading my Bible God

brought some to my mind who wanted to 

be rich.  Consider:

Achan.

"Achan replied, 'It is true! I have

sinned against the Lord, the God

of Israel.  Among the plunder I saw

a beautiful robe from Babylon,

200 silver coins, and a bar of gold 

weighing more than a pound.  I

wanted them so much that I took

them."

(Joshua 7:20,21 NLT)

You know what happened.  His greed caused

36 warriors to die at Ai and the loss of his 

family and everything he had.

The rich man.

"Good Teacher, what must I

do to inherit eternal life?"

---

"Looking at the man, Jesus felt

genuine love for him.  'There is still

one thing you haven't done, he told

him.  'Go and sell all your possessions

and give the money to the poor, and

you will have treasure in heaven.  Then

come, follow me.'

At this the man's face fell, and 

he went away sad, for he had many 

possessions."

(Mark 10:17, 21 NLT)

I do not need to tell you about the outcome

of this, unless he repented later.

Rich man and Lazarus.

Again, avoiding all the details;

"Finally, the poor man died and 

was carried by the angels to sit beside

Abraham at the heavenly banquet.

The rich man also died and was buried,

and he went to the place of the dead.

There, in torment, he saw Abraham 

in the distance with Lazarus at his

side."

(Luke 16:22,23 NLT)

He let his riches come between him and 

God.  The result, he ended up in hell.

The rich retiree.

You know the story that Jesus told us

of the rich farmer who had more than

his barns could hold, so he decided

to retire, sit back and take it easy:

"But God said to him, 'You fool!

You will die this very night.  Then

who will get everything you worked 

for?

Yes, a person is a fool to store

up earthly wealth but not have a 

rich relationship with God."

(Luke 12:20,21 NLT)

Judas

"Not that cared for the poor - he

was a thief, and since he was in

charge of the disciples money, he

often stole some for himself"

(John 12:6 NLT)

And of course we know that he sold out

Jesus for just 30 pieces of silver.

The out come, Judas has been in hell

for over 1985 years now, and he is 

just getting started.

Then of course there was

Ananias and Sapphire in Acts chapter 5.

They pretended to give all of the money

from the sale of some property, but greed

made them keep some of it back while 

pretending to give it all.  They lied to God

and as a result they both dropped dead.

As and old man near the end of life now

I am content to be poor and have done 

what little I could for the kingdom of God.

If you want to chase after a lot of money

that is between you and God, 

BUT, BEWARE.

 

TODAY'S PROMISE

 

"For the LORD your God is living among you.

He is a mighty savior.

He will take delight in you with gladness.

With his love, he will calm all your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."

(Zephaniah 3:17 NLT)

TALK OR LISTEN

I confess.

I noticed it first in myself.

Have you noticed that most of us have plenty 

of time to talk.  But very little time to listen?

Perhaps that why the Scriptures tell us;

"Understand this, my dear brothers

and sisters: You must all be quick to

listen, slow to speak, and slow to get

angry."

(James 1:19 NLT)

 

TODAY'S QUOTE

 

BRIGHTEN THE CORNER WHERE YOU ARE.

 

I have outlived most of my contemporaries

and would image I am getting close to the 

end of my life here on earth.

But when I reflect back on my life why were

there no great accomplishments for Christ?

For more than sixty years I have wanted to

do great things for Christ.  But, they did not

happen.

Is it very possible that we have been taking

the attitude of the world in wanting to do

great things?

The Lord seems to be drawing a thought 

to my mind.  Is it my mind that wants to 

do great things, but not the will of God for

me?  Is it something else he has in mind

for me?

Remember, it is God that gives us the 

gifts he wants us to have.  He is the one

who gives us our strengths - and perhaps

weaknesses.  He teaches us;

"It is the one and only Spirit who

distributes all these gifts.  He alone

decides which gift each person should

have."

(1 Corinthians 12:11 NLT)

Perhaps I am wanting someone else's gift

and need to consider the little spot God 

has placed me in.

Christ tells us that we cannot even get

into the kingdom of Heaven unless we

become like little children.  The Lord

seems to have been impressing on my 

mind the children's song written by

Ina D. Ogdon back in 1913.

"Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,

Do not wait to shed your light afar;

To the many duties ever near you now be true,

Brighten the corner where you are.

Refrain:

Brighten the corner where you are!

Brighten the corner where you are!

Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar; 

Brighten the corner where you are!"

TODAY'S PROMISE

 

"So do no throw away this confident

trust in the Lord.  Remember the

great reward it brings you!  Patient

endurance is what you need now,

so that you will continue to do God's

will.  Then you will receive all that

he has promised."  

(Hebrews 10:35,36 NLT)

WHAT ARE YOU TRAINING FOR?

Of course we need exercise for good health.

Especially these days when very few people

work at jobs that requires physical labor.

I know numbers of people who need to 

get off that thing they are setting on and 

do something.  Just move to prove they are

alive if nothing else.

But consider how many people's lives are

consumed by exercise, or sports, trying to 

be stronger, better looking etc.  Yes, it will

help them physically in this life.  But remember,

this life will end shortly.

That is why the Scriptures say;

"Physical training is good, but training

for godliness is much better, promising

benefits in this life and in the life to come."

(1 Timothy 4:8 NLT)

Physical training is good for a few years.

But building a relationship with God is 

a forever thing.

"And just as each person is destined

to die once and after that comes

judgment."

(Hebrews 9:27 NLT)

 

TODAY'S QUOTE

 

YOU ARE NOT A SUPERMAN/WOMAN/THING.

I have noticed a trend today on social media.

Most people want to be nice, helpful and 

encouraging.  Thank God for that.

However,  the gist of it is, you have what it takes,

try harder, don't give up, you will make it etc.

Contrary to popular belief, you cannot 

do just anything you set your mind to

if you try hard enough.  If you leave God

out of the equation - YOU WILL FAIL.

Many of these people will not realize it

until all their support is taken out from

under them and they can only look up.

But, when we get into a relationship

with Jesus Christ things change in our

favor.  Then you can say with the 

Apostle Paul;

"Now all glory to God, who is

able, through his mighty power at

work within us, to accomplish 

infinitely more than we might ask 

or think."

(Ephesians 3:20 NLT)

and;

"For I can do everything through

Christ, who gives me strength."

(Philippians 4:13 NLT)

TODAY'S PROMISE

 

"But God is so rich in mercy, and

he loved us so much, that even

though we were dead because of our

sins, he gave us life when he raised

Christ from the dead.  (It is only by

God's grace that you have been 

saved!)  For he raised us from the

dead along with Christ and seated us

with him in the heavenly realms

because we are united with Christ

Jesus."

(Ephesians 2:4 -6 NLT)

ARE YOU DESTROYING YOURSELF?

 

TODAY'S QUOTE

 

Regarding seeking God A.W. Tozer stated:

“Let the seeking man reach a place

where life and lips join to say

continually, ‘Be thou exalted,’ and

a thousand minor problems will 

be solved at once.  His Christian

life ceases to be the complicated

thing it had been before and becomes

the very essence of simplicity.”

HOW TO BE PERFECT

HOW TO BE PERFECT.

"Jesus told him, 'If you want to

be perfect, go and sell all your pos-

sessions and give the money to the 

poor, and you will have treasure in

heaven.  Then come, follow me."

(Matthew 19:21 NLT)

The Scriptures tell us that the young man

turned and left sorrowful because he had

many riches.

We also know from the teaching of the 

Scriptures, that unless he later changed

his mind and repented, he is in hell to 

this day sorrowful because he kept his

riches.

It boils down to this one thing in God's 

sight.  To be perfect in God's sight we 

give up everything and follow only after

Jesus.

The following Scripture hit me in a new

way by reading it in a newer version.

I have not been trying to accumulate riches,

but what about the material benefits I have

now?

"Look here, you rich people:

Weep and groan with anguish

because of all the terrible troubles

ahead of you.  Your wealth is rotting

away, and your fine clothes are

moth-eaten rags.  Your gold and 

silver are corroded.  The very wealth

you were counting on will eat away

your flesh like fire.  This corroded

treasure you have hoarded will testify

against you on the day of judgment."

(James 5:1-3 NLT)

God has permitted me, thought just an old

retired man with not much, to be living

very comfortably.  But what about the little

bit of material goods I have.  

From the above Scripture I have begin to 

realize that even the little material blessings

that I have available to me, if not used for 

God, will be counted against me on that 

great judgment day.

Therefore:

"Yet true godliness with contentment

is itself great wealth.  After all, we

brought nothing with us when we 

came into the world, and we can't

take anything with us when we leave

it.  So if we have enough food and

clothing, let us be content."

(1 Timothy 6:6-8 NLT)

has become my goal.

Is this why A.W. Tozer said:

“The man who has God for his 

treasure has all things in One.”

 

TODAY'S PROMISE

 

"Jesus said to the people who believed

in him, 'You are truly my disciples if

you remain faithful to my teachings.

And you will know the truth, and the

truth will set you free."

(John 8:31,32 NLT)

WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO PLEASE?

 

"For they loved human praise more

than the praise of God."

(John 12:43 NLT)

Jesus here was talking about some of the

Jewish leaders.  They believed in him but

did not want to admit it because it would 

hinder their standing in the ruling party

they belonged to.

Now that is a dangerous position to be in,

to be more concerned about what people

think of you than what God thinks of you.

But, are we any different?  Think about 

the many fades and styles you see today.

If you read your Bible any at all, you know

that many of today's fades and styles are

completely contrary to the teaching of God's

word.

Even worse, we see a lot of them creep

into the Church.

The next time you begin to adapt to the 

newest "IN" thing consider, are you doing

it to fit in with the world around you or to

please God.

"You adulterers!  Don't you realize 

that friendship with the world makes

you an enemy of God?  I say it again:

If you want to be a friend of the world,

you make yourself an enemy of God."

(James 4:4 NLT)

TODAY'S QUOTE

 

IS YOUR FAITH TOO COMPLEX?