Are you OK with what you have, or want you don’t need?

There are many warnings in the Bible about giving in to greed and longing for riches. Jesus warned, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal… You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:19 and 24). Did Jesus pursue the acquisition of money? No. On the contrary, He became poor for our sake (2 Corinthians 8:9) and had “no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). The only disciple concerned with wealth was the embezzler Judas, who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

Greed and a desire for riches are traps that bring ruin and destruction. “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” and Christians are warned, “Do not put your trust in wealth” (1 Timothy 6:9-10, 17-18). Covetousness, or wanting more than we have, is idolatry. “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater – has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Ephesians 5:5). The principle to remember is contained in Hebrews 13:5: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

It is the love of money, and not money itself, that is the problem. The love of money is a sin because it gets in the way of worshipping God. Jesus said it was very hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life, Jesus told him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor. “When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth” (Matthew 19:16-22; Luke 10:17-31). By instructing him to give up his money, Jesus pointed out the young man’s main problem: greed. The man could not follow Christ because he was following money. His love of this world interfered with his love for God.

People are more likely to cry out to God when they are in need than when they have plenty. Too often, the wealthy become complacent and self-satisfied and ascribe their riches to their own efforts instead of acknowledging that every good gift comes from God. The easier our lives become, the more enjoyment we derive from our wealth, the greater the temptation to store up treasures on earth, instead of in heaven. If we focus on earthly things like material wealth and possessions, then we fail to give God the glory and worship He deserves. We are to serve God, not waste our time trying to become rich (Proverbs 23:4). Our heart’s desire should be to store up riches in heaven and not worry about what we will eat or drink or wear. “But seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:25-34).

This article is from gotquestions.org, and I highly recommend it. Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-greed.html#ixzz2gZJqnrGl

Why we have to serve those with the least….Jesus did`

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”(Luke 4:18-19 ESV)

In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus clearly identifies His mission by quoting from Isaiah 61.  This is a theme He returns to over and over again with statements such as:

The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me.
But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

If you scan the gospels, it’s not difficult to see how Jesus prioritized His life and ministry:

• The sinful over the righteous.
• The sick over the well.
• The least over the greatest.
• The lost over the found.

Simply put: Seek the lost. Serve the least.

Does this describe the priorities of your life and ministry?
Why or Why not?

Criticizing others, it’s easy to judge but hard to have an open mind.

We sometimes criticize others unfairly. We don’t know all their circumstances, nor their motives. Only God, who is aware of all the facts, is able to judge people righteously. John Wesley told of a man he had little respect for because he considered him to be miserly and covetous. One day when this person contributed only a small gift to a worthy charity, Wesley openly criticized him.

After the incident, the man went to Wesley privately and told him he had been living on parsnips and water for several weeks. He explained that before his conversion, he had run up many bills. Now, by skimping on everything and buying nothing for himself he was paying off his creditors one by one. “Christ has made me an honest man,” he said, “and so with all these debts to pay, I can give only a few offerings above my tithe. I must settle up with my worldly neighbors and show them what the grace of God can do in the heart of a man who was once dishonest.” Wesley then apologized to the man and asked his forgiveness.

Be careful of your thoughts about others, we don’t always know their story. In addition to that, it may be us in that same situation one day. Take the time to see past someone’s appearances and pray for them instead of judging them.

Luke 37″Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. Stop criticizing others, or it will all come back on you. If you forgive others, you will be forgiven. 38 If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving — large or small — it will be used to measure what is given back to you.” 39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “What good is it for one blind person to lead another? The first one will fall into a ditch and pull the other down also. 40 A student is not greater than the teacher. But the student who works hard will become like the teacher. 41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

Driven to distraction..a look at never being satisfied.

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.”—Luke 10:41-42

You have to love Martha, don’t you? She was much like us—distracted by many things!

Martha had many mouths to feed, and she wanted to be the best possible host to her guests. No wonder she was “dragged all around.” That’s what the word for “distracted” literally means. Because of her insistence that everything needed to be just right, she was pulled in every direction till she was nearly coming apart at the seams! Finally, in desperation, she asked Jesus to tell Mary to pitch in: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

What made Martha so driven? Did she somehow need to feel important? Was she driven by a desire to live up to the expectations of others? Or was she simply unwilling to come to terms with her own limitations?

In Jesus’ response we hear his tenderness and care for her: “Martha, Martha … you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.” Yet we also hear a gentle rebuke. Martha had chosen what was second best. Mary, on the other hand, had chosen well. She had put Jesus in first place, and as a result, she was able to set aside busyness for a while to soak up the joy of being with her Lord.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, there is so much to do! We find it hard to simply “stop” to listen and learn from you. Teach us how to gather at your feet, ready to honor you and take your words into our hearts. Amen.

The power of forgiveness

“Which is easier: to say, Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, Get up and walk’?”—Matthew 9:5

Jesus’ healing of the paralyzed man is a miniature portrait of his entire ministry. Jesus cures not only diseases of the body but also the disease of the heart and soul. This points to the new life Jesus has come to bring to the world through his death and resurrection.

To ask for forgiveness is often seen as a sign of weakness. Such a humble posture doesn’t sit well with our view of our importance. Like Naaman in Elisha’s day (2 Kings 5), we don’t want to be at the mercy of someone else.

But forgiveness is the most powerful thing in the world. It can change not just our heart but also our entire way of life. It can go down to the deep and hidden roots of old and long-buried hurts.

Sometimes we think we can’t be forgiven for the terrible things we’ve done, but Jesus assures us there is nothing he cannot forgive or restore.

Forgiveness isn’t just something we ask for ourselves. Jesus reminds us that we too are to forgive others. It may even require us to take the first step and ask for forgiveness when we feel that only we have been wronged. But Jesus teaches us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11:4).

Jesus forgave a paralyzed man; God forgives us. Who is God asking us to forgive?

Prayer:

Dear God, help us to pray for forgiveness and to forgive, knowing that we can love because you first loved us. Amen.

Do you practice what you know?

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:1-2 ESV)

We tend to give people a lot of Bible based theology, thoughtful philosophy, even helpful strategies for life, but this great wealth of information does not necessarily translate to a long-haul-life-change.   We all know plenty of Christians who know what the Bible says but who try hard to connect t this knowledge to their daily lives and even more importantly to what God wants to do in and through them in the context of the real world. We can see from this passage that Jesus wasn’t just about knowing the right things, he was about experiencing them as well.

After teaching the disciples he sends them out to apply the knowledge they have learned of Jesus and his mission. We even see Jesus applying his teachings to specific experiences his disciples went through (Luke 5:1-11, Luke 5:27-31). We need to  always examine our motives for reading our Bibles, listening to sermons, reading bible devotions,  or even discussing spiritual matters with friends. The things we learn from our Bible and the Holy Spirit should spur us to action and not just lay dormant in our minds.

The subject we all know about , but don’t talk about…Hell

One of the saddest things we can do today is not talk about Hell. In the 60’s and 70’s, there was an evagelistic effort called “turn or burn.” In other words, we needed to turn from our sins, or burn in Hell. It doesn’t get more blunt than that. But somewhere along the line, we softened our approach to evangelism and turned away from the subject of our consequences of sin, and redirected them to the love of God.

Now I love to talk about the love of God, but we also need to tell more people that our sins WILL seperate us from that love, and it’s a choice we make. Along with that choice comes consequences, and that consequence is called Hell. If we choose to rebel against the laws of the Lord, then we choose an eternal damnation. Once again, blunt, but true.If more people knew this, and understood it completely, then there would be a lot less sinning and a lot more winning. If you doubt this, think about the difference in society between the 60’s, and now. Back then Hell was preached on, and although people still rebelled, the world was a lot more God-Focused than it is now that we teach only love with no consequences.

I once came acreoss an outline on the subject of Hell that I would like to share with you below. Please repost this, and share it with as many people as you can. We need to address the topic of Hell more often, and the post below explains how to get in and out of it. It’s a subject that we need to share more often so Satan’s Hotel will not be so busy.

Key Facts About Eternity

(1) Everyone will exist eternally either in heaven or hell (Daniel 12:2,3; Matthew 25:46; John 5:28; Revelation 20:14,15).

(2) Everyone has only one life in which to determine their destiny (Hebrews 9:27).

(3) Heaven or hell is determined by whether a person believes (puts their trust) in Christ alone to save them (John 3:16, 36, etc.).

Key Passages About Hell

(1) Hell was designed originally for Satan and his demons (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).

(2) Hell will also punish the sin of those who reject Christ (Matthew 13:41,50; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8).

(3) Hell is conscious torment.

• Matthew 13:50 “furnace of fire…weeping and gnashing of teeth”
• Mark 9:48 “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched”
• Revelation 14:10 “he will be tormented with fire and brimstone”

(4) Hell is eternal and irreversible.

• Revelation 14:11 “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day and night”
• Revelation 20:14 “This is the second death, the lake of fire”
• Revelation 20:15 “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire”

Erroneous Views of Hell

(1) The second chance view – After death there is still a way to escape hell.

Answer: “It is appointed unto men once to die and after that the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

(2) Universalism – All are eternally saved.

Answer: It denies the truth of salvation through Christ which means that a person decides to either trust in Christ or else he/she rejects Christ and goes to hell (John 3:16;3:36).

(3) Annihilationism – Hell means a person dies like an animal – ceases to exist.

Answer: It denies the resurrection of the unsaved (John 5:28, etc. – see above). It denies conscious torment (see above).

Objections to the Biblical View of Hell

(1) A loving God would not send people to a horrible hell.

Response: God is just (Romans 2:11).

• God has provided the way of salvation to all (John 3:16,17; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15; 1 Timothy 2:6; 4:10; Titus 2:11; 2 Peter 3:9).
• Even those who haven’t heard of Christ are accountable for God’s revelation in nature (Romans 1:20). God will seek those who seek Him (Matthew 7:7; Luke 19:10).
• Therefore God doesn’t send people to hell, they choose it (Romans 1:18,21,25).

(2) Hell is too severe a punishment for man’s sin.

Response: God is holy-perfect (1 Peter 1:14,15).

• Sin is willful opposition to God our creator (Romans 1:18-32).
• Our sin does merit hell (Romans 1:32; 2:2,5,6).
• What is unfair and amazing is that Christ died for our sin and freely offers salvation to all (Romans 2:4; 3:22-24; 4:7,8; 5:8,9).

Biblical Terms Describing Where the Dead Are

• Sheol – a Hebrew term simply describing “the grave” or “death” – Does not refer to “hell” specifically
• Hades – A Greek term that usually refers to hell – a place of torment (Luke 10:15; 16:23, etc.)
• Gehenna – A Greek term (borrowed from a literal burning dump near Jerusalem) that always refers to hell – a place of torment (Matthew 5:30; 23:33)
• “Lake of fire”- the final abode of unbelievers after they are resurrected (Revelation 20:14,15)
• “Abraham’s bosom” – (Luke 16:22) a place of eternal comfort
• “Paradise” – (Luke 23:43) a place of eternal comfort
• “With the Lord” – a key phrase describes where church age believers are after death (Philippians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 2 Corinthians 5:8)
• “New heavens and earth” – where believers will be after they are resurrected (Revelation 20:4-6; 21:1-4)

Conclusion

Our curiosity about the abode of the dead is not completely satisfied by biblical terms or verses. What we do know is that either eternal torment in hell or eternal joy in heaven awaits all people after death, based on whether they trust in Christ’s payment for sin or reject Christ.

Nevertheless

And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:41-44 ESV)

Jesus had spent the evening with the twelve in what men would eventually label “The Last Supper”. He sat at the table of eleven faithful and one devil, serving them all. A discussion eventually broke out among them regarding who “was to be regarded as the greatest” (Luke 22:24). Like all fallen men, the disciples brought talk of the kingdom, thrones, and judgement back to themselves as centerpiece. Undoubtedly they each imagined themselves seated high upon a throne, regaled in fine garments, judging the twelve tribes of Israel from a place of authority. But the scene that would play out late into that dark night would change the course of the Christian man’s thinking forever.

The authority in the kingdom is not man’s, nor was it ever intended to be. In fact, King Jesus lived in a way that undeniably displayed this. While he walked the earth as a man without equal, he remained a servant (Mark 10:45). God’s plan for the world has never been, nor will ever be about the authority of men. Jesus lived this truth out even to the end as he submitted his authority, praying “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” His earthly life was lived to honor and glorify the Father by submitting to his divine authority rather than promote his own. It is obvious here the anguish and agony of this intimate moment, as Jesus is faced with this looming cup he must drink from; that cup was the wrath of God. “Nevertheless”, he said, and drank deeply from the cup of wrath, becoming for us “sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Is your life lived to exalt the Father’s authority, or promote your own? Answer this question by letting your flesh take a back seat to the Spirit’s leading today.

How grateful are you?

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”—Luke 17:17

Suffering from leprosy, the ten men cried for mercy from a distance. Although Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he noticed these people in need. Asking no questions, he said simply, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” According to custom, the priests would determine if they were healed.

The ten men obeyed, and along the way they noticed they were healed. It was obvious. Can you imagine their excitement? What would have been lifelong banishment was over! They were cleansed, and now they could be part of the community again. They could go home!

Our lesson comes from the example of “the foreigner.” He saw his healing and hurried back, praising God with excitement, not caring what anyone thought. He was loud. He was ecstatic. After all, he was healed! Throwing himself at Jesus’ feet, the Samaritan did what we expected from all ten who had been healed. He took the time to thank his healer.

Yet where were the other nine? Jesus’ question prompts us all to think about our thankfulness. The thankful Samaritan was healed physically and spiritually, as Jesus pointed out: “Your faith has made you well.” Healed from the deadly disease of sin, we need to ask, “How do I express thanks for my healing?”

Well, how do you?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, healer of our disease of sin and other illness-es, how can we thank you enough for the gifts of your life and love? Receive our gratitude for your amazing salva-tion. Amen!

Count the cost along with your blessings

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?(Luke 14:28 ESV)

Living in America can cause a person to get a little too comfortable. Jesus’ words don’t mean as much to an American or any person who has religious freedom as it would those in countries where Christians are being persecuted for their beliefs. How many times have you heard a preacher use this verse when giving the gospel presentation at the end of his message? You probably haven’t. Have you ever used it when telling someone about Jesus? Probably not, because it isn’t a verse often used in the evangelism repertoire.

Did you count the cost when you decided to follow Jesus? After reading this, I decided to look at my life and ask myself, “What was the cost or is the cost now I pay now for following Jesus? It can be hard to find one. We have friends and family who are Christians. We have our own Christian rock music and t-shirts. I can join a club at school with people who have the same belief as I do. I then had to ask myself if I am really living the Christian life Jesus described in this passage? After all, I tend to find more blessings and very few cost associated with my belief.