2008-03-28
Good Morning Dear Ones,
In the last two weeks, I have been led to write about pressing questions that occur to the faithful concerning mammon. Does God ever lie? Are we poor? These have been answered with supporting Scripture. Today, I am led to turn to God's instructions concerning mammon [material wealth]. We already have MT 6: 33, from Christ's Sermon on the Mount. "Instead [of worrying], be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what He requires of you, and He will provide you with all these other things [our basic needs]." Now for a deeper understanding, let's look at 1 TIM 6: 17-19, "Command those who are rich in the things of life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such uncertain things as riches, but in God, Who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, and ready to share with others. In this way they will store up for themselves a treasure which will be solid foundation for the future. And then they will be able to win the life which is true life."
This revelation of God's will for our attitude toward mammon and our focus on Him is indeed foundational to being willing, moreover able, to share with others. God is indeed giving us a path to establishing the future that He wants for us, eternal life with Him. Our attitude should not be one of pride, "look a me, everyone! Notice how much money, power, free time, what a big mansion I live in, etc." We all know people whose attitude is focused on themselves and how much affirmation of importance they can acquire. Some of them are famous, and others are right here at home. The bottom line is that old, timeworn adage, "You can't take it with you." Can there be real, lasting happiness in this approach? I don't think so, not when one uncovers what is underneath all these layers of so-called sophistication. As with MT 6: 33, the focus of our thinking and actions should be on God's generosity, what He does for us, and on the Kingdom of God. PS 89: 11, "Heaven is Yours, the earth also; You made the world and everything in it." We must understand that the earth and everything in it belongs to God, not to mankind. God gives us these thing on loan for our enjoyment. He still was, is, and ever will be our King and Sovereign Lord [PS 89: 4]. Everything we are and have is from God! How can we not realize that our very freedom from slavery to sin and certain spiritual death is through the Atonement of Jesus Christ-God's sacrifice of His only begotten Son for us? 1 COR 1: 30-31, "But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our Wisdom. By Him we are put right with God; we become God's holy people and are set free. So then, as the Scriptures [JER 9: 24] says, ‘Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done.'"
To God and the faithful storing up a firm foundation of "treasures in heaven" for eternal life with the Father, the "life He wants for us, the true life," matters to the Kingdom and to us all. MT 6: 19-21, "So not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are." My breakthrough lesson on this matter came when I lost the solitaire diamond on my engagement ring. My ring had caught on my sweater, and I looked down to find the setting still on my finger but the diamond gone. At that time, I didn't even know it's real monetary value, but it had sentimental value. I called Peter to tell him after spending a couple of hours looking for it in the laundry room where I had been working. My hands shook and my heart was in my shoes! Peter has a Kingdom of God view of everything, something that endears me to him to this day after 31 years of a happy marriage and counting. He helped me to continue to look that night to no avail and then told me, it was more important that he had me and not the diamond. My sweet husband lives to keep me happy, and I love him for it. We never could afford to buy another diamond, but I have found that a cubic zirconium looks just as good to me. I have what really matters, a husband who loves the Lord and loves me. Both Christ's and the Father's mission statements [JN 6: 39-40 and EPH 1: 4-5, respectively] reveal His love for His human creation and His view of the "true life." Our Deity's greatest desire is to bring us back to His side in heaven to rule as "joint-heirs" with the Son for eternity [RO 8: 17]. What a blissful and wonderful thought, especially in view of the details we've been given about heaven, the New Jerusalem [see the first segment of this series called the "Kingdom of Heaven"]. Let me end this segment on mammon, citing COL 3: 1-4, which speaks eloquently for itself. "You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on His throne at the right side of God. Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with him and share His glory."
PRAYER: O Lord, we praise and thank You for making Your instructions so clear to us. Every command You have given us is for the purpose of fulfilling Your mission statement to bring us back to You for a life of bliss and sweet fellowship with You for eternity. We are sinners, who don't always find it easy to take Your direction and follow Your instructions. You have told us through Paul, in RO 7: 14-25 about the conflict that goes on within us between the flesh and the Spirit. We thank You, Lord, for the clear promise that if we endure in faith in Jesus Christ, the Spirit will eventually win out. This process, called sanctification, is often painful to us, sometimes takes us out of our comfort zones, and forces us to move in ways unfamiliar to us. You have told us in GA 5: 16-17 about how the Spirit and our natural desires are opposites that can't be mixed or rationalized. This helps us to understand the pain we sometimes feel at making these necessary changes and the paradigm shift that is involved from total selfishness to focus on the needs of others and on You. The acquisition of money [or other kinds of material wealth] and our use of it have always been difficult subjects for us. This is particularly true in our ever- increasingly materialistic society. Taking Your direction involves courage and depth of faith in You. But we must remember the truth in PS 37: 23-24, "The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Through they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand." So, we plead to You today the words of PS 25: 4-5, "Teach me Your ways, O Lord; make them known to me. Teach me to live according to Your truth, for You are my God Who saves me. I always trust in You." We are willing and ready to submit to Your direction. PS 86: 11, "Teach me, Lord, what You want me to do, and I will obey You faithfully; teach me to serve You with complete devotion." You have called us to "Be holy because I am holy" [LV 11: 44-45; LV 19: 2; 1 PET 1: 16]. We can rest assured that You have also equipped us to make the changes necessary to win the battle against our fleshly desires. For that and so much more, we offer You our praise and thanks. In Christ's mighty name, we pray. Amen.
Next week, I'm instructed by the Holy Spirit to begin a new segment in this True Faith series of messages on judgment . While not an easy subject, there are some wonderful blessings encased in the Scriptures we will examine. Who would have ever known we would find so many spiritual treasures in Christ's Sermon on the Mount, [MT 5-7]? And yet, the Holy Spirit has given me enough material to write 254 messages about it and still not be finished! This is only one example of the supernatural nature of the Scriptures. As I have said before, I have been studying and meditating on God's words to us, His "Love Letter" to us, for 45 years, and I've only scratched the surface! When 2 TIM 3: 16-17 tells us that these words are "God-breathed and useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed," we must pay attention. I call it His "Love Letter" to us, because His love for us and desire to have us with Him for eternity is all over this Book. It's supernatural power to bring readers to where God can "transform them inwardly by the renewal of their mind" [RO 12: 2] is real. As for learning what real happiness is, it too is found in the pages of this wonderful gift to us. I got a kick out of this acronym, but it's message is true. BIBLE = Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth. This is instruction in right living that leads the obediently faithful believer to real happiness on earth and blissful fellowship forever with God. Who could ask for more? Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn