We have all seen the headlines: multiple bank and business bailouts, rising home foreclosures, jobs lost and firms downsizing, 401Ks and IRAs dropping in value, rising utility, grocery, and gasoline prices. What are Christians supposed to do when we’re hit by a national or personal financial crisis?
How we weather a financial storm depends mostly on our attitude about who the money belongs to in the first place. Do we view our money as just that, ours? Or do we view it as coming from and belonging to God? If we see our income as being from the Lord, it makes it much easier to navigate the turbulent waters of economic downturns and tough financial situations. Whether we lose or make money, it is all His and under His control, and that is a truly freeing concept.
The Lord created all of us with certain talents and gifts which we are to use to not only make a living, but to also help us live our lives in such a way as to bring glory and honor to Him (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:20). So while we grow up, follow our individual career paths into adulthood, and begin our lives as contributing members of society, making money and accumulating possessions along the way, we are also to serve and worship the Lord with every fiber of our being. We cannot do that if we consider it all ours and not His.
We will always find ourselves serving what we treasure the most, whether it is wealth, power, fame, or the Lord. The Bible shows us that Jesus knew all too well the lure of money and possessions because during His earthly ministry He actually spoke more on the subject of finances than on heaven and hell combined. Luke 12:15-34 is an excellent passage on the attitude we should have toward our money and possessions and is well worth taking some time to prayerfully read and study.
Our sovereign God placed us on the earth at just this time in history, and these tough economic times come as no surprise to Him. Since He knows every single detail of our lives, down to the exact number of hairs we lost to our hairbrush this morning (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7), we can absolutely trust Him to help us through a time of financial crisis. Let us make sure we are living prudently to begin with, staying within our means and not accumulating too much debt, and every day prayerfully entrusting it all to the Lord. Then we can encourage each another with Paul’s words in Philippians 4:19 as he gives glory to God, trusting Him in every situation, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Excerpt provided by gotquestions.org
God bless you. And this is for His glory!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Dealing with Difficult People
Our response to difficult people should center around the examples provided by Jesus, for He surely dealt with many difficult people during His time here on earth. His interactions with these people was never with an attitude of superiority or dominance, but rather one of subservience. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus was quite specific: “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6: 27-31).”
We also see a related statement by Jesus in Matthew 19:30: “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” This is a very difficult assignment, and it is certainly not something we can do on our own or in our own power. Yet it is not impossible if we seek the Lord’s help, because power from the Holy Spirit will enable us to do things we could never do on our own. In so doing, however, it is important to recall the admonition given by the apostle Paul in Romans 12:3: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” When we succeed in dealing with difficult people with a Christ-like attitude, it is never a cause for pride or self-aggrandizement; it is an occasion to praise the God who makes all things possible through Christ, who strengthens and empowers u s (Philippians 4:13).
Some advice similar to that of the Luke passages, and just as difficult, is given by Paul to the Christians in Philippi, when he tells them to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2: 3-4). Furthermore, Proverbs 12:16 tells us that “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.” Chapter 13 of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians contains a description of true Christian love—it is to be patient and kind (v. 4).
Putting all this together, the way to deal with difficult people is to love them, pray for them, expect to give rather than to receive, maintain a humble spirit, and relate to them in patience and kindness. But more important is the need to pray for the Spirit’s power to change our own hearts and minds toward the difficult person and enable us to see them as needing the same love, grace and mercy that God extended toward us. Jesus even forgave the men who were going to kill him, as related in Luke 23:34-39. The way to deal with difficult people, then, is to imitate Christ’s humility and love. That kind of response is both edifying to us and pleasing to the Lord.
Excerpt provided by gotquestions.org
God bless you. And this is for His glory!
We also see a related statement by Jesus in Matthew 19:30: “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” This is a very difficult assignment, and it is certainly not something we can do on our own or in our own power. Yet it is not impossible if we seek the Lord’s help, because power from the Holy Spirit will enable us to do things we could never do on our own. In so doing, however, it is important to recall the admonition given by the apostle Paul in Romans 12:3: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” When we succeed in dealing with difficult people with a Christ-like attitude, it is never a cause for pride or self-aggrandizement; it is an occasion to praise the God who makes all things possible through Christ, who strengthens and empowers u s (Philippians 4:13).
Some advice similar to that of the Luke passages, and just as difficult, is given by Paul to the Christians in Philippi, when he tells them to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2: 3-4). Furthermore, Proverbs 12:16 tells us that “A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.” Chapter 13 of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians contains a description of true Christian love—it is to be patient and kind (v. 4).
Putting all this together, the way to deal with difficult people is to love them, pray for them, expect to give rather than to receive, maintain a humble spirit, and relate to them in patience and kindness. But more important is the need to pray for the Spirit’s power to change our own hearts and minds toward the difficult person and enable us to see them as needing the same love, grace and mercy that God extended toward us. Jesus even forgave the men who were going to kill him, as related in Luke 23:34-39. The way to deal with difficult people, then, is to imitate Christ’s humility and love. That kind of response is both edifying to us and pleasing to the Lord.
Excerpt provided by gotquestions.org
God bless you. And this is for His glory!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thought of the Day
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24
I believe that this verse is reminding us of a few things:
1) To pray - Prayer is our way to commune with God and without it we are like tiny island in the middle of a vast ocean. I believe that it is important for us to take time out during each and every day to pray. The Lord always hears us and knows what is best for us. We may not get everything we ask for, but that is okay…because it is all done for a reason. God has a plan and His will shall be done.
2) If we don’t ask God for something, it probably won’t be given to us. And yes, God knows all of our wants and desires, but I think that he wants to us to ask for it. It is through prayer that we ask God for our needs…and prayer allows us to form our own special relationship with Him.
3) Believing that all things are possible through God - For even in the most hopeless or dire of circumstances the will of the Lord can turn things around in an instant. But, we must believe and have faith that He can do all things. The Lord has no limitations and He never takes a day off from loving and watching over us. Therefore, we should not take one day off from being thankful for our gift of life.
Prayer for the day-
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the wonderful gifts that you have given to me. I pray that you continue to breath your breathe of blessings upon me and my family. I thank you for every beat of my heart and every breath from my lungs. I pray that you watch over me and keep me safe. Help me to walk down the narrow path and avoid the wide road of temptation. All praise, glory and honor to you forever.
Amen.
God bless you. And this is for His glory!
Mark 11:24
I believe that this verse is reminding us of a few things:
1) To pray - Prayer is our way to commune with God and without it we are like tiny island in the middle of a vast ocean. I believe that it is important for us to take time out during each and every day to pray. The Lord always hears us and knows what is best for us. We may not get everything we ask for, but that is okay…because it is all done for a reason. God has a plan and His will shall be done.
2) If we don’t ask God for something, it probably won’t be given to us. And yes, God knows all of our wants and desires, but I think that he wants to us to ask for it. It is through prayer that we ask God for our needs…and prayer allows us to form our own special relationship with Him.
3) Believing that all things are possible through God - For even in the most hopeless or dire of circumstances the will of the Lord can turn things around in an instant. But, we must believe and have faith that He can do all things. The Lord has no limitations and He never takes a day off from loving and watching over us. Therefore, we should not take one day off from being thankful for our gift of life.
Prayer for the day-
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the wonderful gifts that you have given to me. I pray that you continue to breath your breathe of blessings upon me and my family. I thank you for every beat of my heart and every breath from my lungs. I pray that you watch over me and keep me safe. Help me to walk down the narrow path and avoid the wide road of temptation. All praise, glory and honor to you forever.
Amen.
God bless you. And this is for His glory!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Perspective
If you take all of the best attributes of every living person on the planet AND THEN include all of the best attributes from those that have passed since the time of Adam AND THEN take all of the best attributes of those that have not been born up until the end of all things...AND THEN you combine all of these great attributes together and put it into one person - it would still fall short of the immense majesty of God.
God bless you. And this is for His glory!
God bless you. And this is for His glory!
How can you die for me?
The message in this video is quite clear. But, I think that each person will get a little something different out of it. Let me know if the event that transpires rings a bell with you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
