Could you give all your wealth up?

  Could you give your wealth up?

The apostle Paul wrote,

"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." 1 Timothy 6:10.

Now there is nothing wrong with being wealthy. Scripture clearly states it is, the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil.

Money has it’s place in our lives. But it should never be first place. It especially should never be put ahead of God in our lives.

Matthew’s gospel records this incident between a rich young man and Jesus. It states,

"Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." 

"Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,  honor your father and mother,' and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.''" 

"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" 

Jesus answered, "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." 

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." Matthew 19:16-22.

Would you be willing to give up all your wealth to serve Christ?

Please think about it.

The things you accumulate

  The things you accumulate. 

The apostle Peter writes,

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade kept in heaven for you" 1Peter 1:3-4.

If you accept the saving grace offered to you by God through Christ Jesus. Then you can praise God because the inheritance we have is not in this world but in heaven where it can never spoil or fade.

The riches you may accumulate in this world are fleeting. At the end of your life they will be dispersed among other people. They will no longer be yours. But the things you do for Christ. The things you do for God will be yours forever.

Please think about it.

Who'd you trust?

  Who’d you trust?

In Proverbs

Those who trust in their riches will fall, 

but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

                                                               Proverbs 11:28

The Psalmist writes,

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, 

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." 

                                                                            Psalm 20:7.

Jesus said,

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also....

"No one 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” Matthew 16:19-21,24.

So here is a simple question to anyone who calls themselves a Christian. A true believer in Christ Jesus.

In what or in whom do you put your trust?

Please think about it.

Give it all up?

  Give it all up?

In the Gospel of Matthew we read of this interaction between Jesus and a rich young man.

"Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." 

"Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,  honor your father and mother,' and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.''" 

"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" 

Jesus answered, "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." 

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." Matthew 19:16-22.

The lesson we learn here as Christians is simple. Are you willing to give up all your material possessions and trust in God to supply all your needs?

Are you?

Please think about it.

Who is

 Who is

Isaiah the prophet talking about man made gods states,

“Those who lavish gold from the purse,

and weigh out silver in the scales, 

hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

Then they fall down and worship!

They lift it to their shoulders , they carry it,

they set it in its place, and stand there;

it cannot move from its place.

If one cries to it, it does not answer

or save him from trouble.”

                                       Isaiah 46:6,7.

Lets not make any mistake we living in the twenty-first century have gods. They may not be effigies of animals or other things but we have them. A god is anything you put your trust in above all things. 

These things can be money, houses, cars, investments. Even political and religious leaders.

The bottom line with all of these things is they cannot save you. You will not get to heaven by making them first in your life. When trouble arrives in your life these things cannot help you.

I’ve heard over the years of millionaires on their death beds sorrowfully admit they didn’t spend more time with God than making millions.

I’ve heard many people who’ve lost their houses and possessions due to natural disaster or fire cry because their life and meaning of success was in the gathering of possessions.

Isaiah the prophet states,

"A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" 

"All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 

The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:6-8.

The God we as believers in Christ Jesus. The LORD God Almighty is a living God who loves us and went to great lengths to show us in human terms how far He would go to show us the way to heaven.

The apostle Paul writes,

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8.

So who is your God? Your possessions, your money? A political or religious leader? Who?

Please think about it.

Giving and Account

 Giving an account.

In the gospel of Luke we read Jesus as saying,

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.  

At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores  and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 

"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.  

In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  

So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 

"But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.  

And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 

"He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house,  

for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 

"Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 

" ‘No, father Abraham,' he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 

"He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' " Luke 16:19-31

This I believe makes things simple. While there is nothing wrong with being rich. It is the emphasis we put on money and what we do with it that can cause problems. The apostle Paul telling us,

"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." 1 Timothy 6:10.

In the above parable from Jesus it seems clear that the rich man cared more for his money and himself than for Lazarus who was in need. 

It seems clear that the rich man either didn’t believe in God or turned his back on God. Either way he ended up in hell.

Such a story should be a warning to all who are materially rich and indeed all of us. Be careful how you use your money. For one day you will stand before God and have to give an account as to how you spent it.

Please think about it.

In what or whom?

 In what or whom?

In the book of Proverbs we read,

“Those who trust in their riches will fall, 

but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”

                                                                  Proverbs 11:28.

The Psalmist writes,

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

 but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” 

                                                                   Psalm 20:7.

The riches of this world are fleeting. No matter how many material possessions we gather up. One day they will cease to be ours. When we pass on to eternity all the money, all the things of this world we have owned will go to another.

The book of Ecclesiastes states,

"To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Ecclesiastes 2:26.

My first pastors wife was fond of saying, 

“There is only one life. It will soon be past. 

Only what’s done for God will last.” 

                                                   Author unknown.

What she said is right.

While there is nothing wrong with being wealthy. It is the emphasis we place on our wealth that matters. The apostle Paul states,

“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.” 1 Timothy 6:10.

So in what or whom do you place your faith?

Please think about it.

My Help comes from

  My help comes from

The Psalmist writes,

"I lift up my eyes to the hills— 

where does my help come from? 

My help comes from the LORD, 

the Maker of heaven and earth." 

                                               Psalm 121:1,2.

Where does your help come from? 

In the book of gospel of Matthew we read,

“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” 

“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,  honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’” 

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 

Jesus answered, “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.” 

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” Matthew 19:16-22.

This man is an example of many in the church today. Rather than trusting wholly in God. They trust in their material possessions. 

Jesus warned,

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

So where is your trust? Do you truly trust God to supply your needs or are you trusting in your material wealth?

Does your help come from “The LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." or someplace else?

Please think about it.