December 12, 2010

Who’s Your Master – God or Money?

The back of our US dollar reads, “In God we trust.” Yet for most of us, that’s not true. We worship more the dollar bill then what’s written in the back of it.

The words of Jesus in Luke 12:34 leave us no room to hide: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Trusting money generally sneaks up on us. Most of us believe that money can bring us happiness. We may not say it, but it’s written deep down in our hearts. When it comes to money, it’s easy to trust God when the stakes are low. But when the stakes are high, it’s tempting to trust in money.

Money is the number one competitor for our hearts. 1 Tim. 6:10 – “[10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

This issue was so important that Jesus addressed it – Luke 16:13 – “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

In Matt. 19 – we find a rich young man asking Jesus what he must do to receive eternal life. The rich young man says he’s obeyed every command from the Word. Jesus tells him in verse 21 – “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

After hearing this it tells us – “he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

We might think we’d never reject Jesus like that but truth is – we do all the time. We spend more on coffee, music and movies than we do our church. We regret missing our favorite TV show more than missing bible study. We wake up everyday wondering how we can make more money rather than how to give more money.

After the young man left, Jesus continued teaching his disciples – v. 23-24 – “[23] “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. [24] Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

We may not compare ourselves to the rich young man in the story when we compare ourselves to the richest Americans. But another way of looking at it is to compare ourselves to the rest of the world. More than half of the people on earth live on less than $2 a day in conditions of great hardship. The reality is that most of us in America are filthy rich when compared to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, our wealth puts us at an extreme spiritual disadvantage.

Instead of increasing our standard of living, why not increase our standard of giving. This Christmas remember that it’s not about Christmas presents but Jesus’ Christmas presence in our lives.

Dino Miciano

Connecting People to God and to One Another – Matt. 22:37

February 13, 2010

Tired and can't go on?

I read Luke 5: 1-20. But the verses 4-7 stood out the most. We are reminded that when we have worked, prayed, cried, and fasted for so long, Jesus will ask us to let your nets for a catch (again). And when we follow His command that is when we see His blessings overflow to a point that we would need another boat (so to speak) to carry it all. I just pray that during the praying and the fasting period, that we will not grow weary. The waiting for the answer seems to be the hardest for me. It is when the enemy whispers in my ear “God will not answer you, give up, and give up now.” Then it is time to seek for God’s strength and not ours. We will always fall short. But not when it’s God’s strength. I know, the Lord will answer and He always listens. But in His time, He will respond. So what do we do in the meantime? Here are some verses to help encourage us.

Lamentations 3: 25-26 “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him. It is good to wait quietly for the Salvation of the Lord.” Sometimes I don’t wait quietly. I find myself hurrying God to answer soon. I need to remember that it is always in God’s time. And His timing is perfect.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The Lord will never lead me astray. He never has and he never will. Like the good shepherd, the Lord will always protect me and keep me from harm. And when harm comes my way, He will scoop me up in His arms and protect me from my enemies.

Psalm 73: 26 “My flesh and my heart will fail. But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” I don’t know how many times I have failed myself and others. Yet, I continue to be stubborn and try to solve my problems through my strength. I have proven myself many times that I am not strong enough to tackle them. And when I think I am getting an upper hand on my problems, I realize that it was the Lord holding me up and keeping me strong.

Isaiah 39: 29, 31 “He gives strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak.” “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not go weary. They will walk and not be faint.”

Have you ever looked at your problem through a magnifying glass? It is so big that it begins to look like a giant. Then we begin to feel overwhelmed and defeated. I have, many times. And yet as soon as I surrender it to the Lord, the peace that cannot be explained by mere words starts to cover me. Then I feel that I begin to soar so high above my problems that it begins to look so tiny, almost unseen. When problems come my way, I need to use my magnifying glass on the Lord and His word instead of my problems. Then the Lord will be the giant and will trample over my enemies. Praise The Lord!!!!!

1 Corinthians 1:8 “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of the Lord Jesus.” The Lord never keeps me strong only for a moment. He always sees me through the ups and downs of my life. He is always present during times of sadness and happiness. His promise is to keep us strong to the end. Not just the end of a problem but until we meet Him.

Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious by anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God and the peace that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

The Bible never says Rejoice only when good things are happening in our lives. It says Rejoice always! (It even says it twice) The Bible also says not to be anxious about anything but in everything….The right combination is Prayer+ Petition+ Thanksgiving+ Presenting request to God=Peace that surpasses understanding will cover us through Christ Jesus.

Brenda P.