Heb 13:5 (NIV) 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."
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:24-25.) I need to ask myself from time to time, “am I serving mammon?” If I am serving God I wouldn’t care about what I will eat or drink. But when I am serving mammon my wife and I may worry or fight over money. I have heard it said that in Christ’s day mammon was an actual pagan deity that represented prosperity. So that makes mammon the false god of prosperity. Much of the pagan idolatry at that time was connected to demonic forces, and today these demons are some of the Devils most powerful weapons to turn the hearts of Jesus’ followers away from God. Mammon is an evil spirit that causes men and women to give power and authority to money when money in reality it has no value and especially no power whatsoever. Mammon causes people to become fearful of running out of money when actually God supplies all our needs. Then mammon turns our hearts to love money and trust riches when our hearts are supposed to belong to God, and trust God alone. Once totally possessed by mammon people become corrupted by it then they will conspire in greedy ways to unethically acquire as much money as they can get.
A rich young ruler came to Jesus and wanted to know how to inherit eternal life, (Matt 19:16-21.) Jesus said “sell all that you have and give it to the poor, then come follow me.” How many of us could actually do something like that. When you are accustom to the finest clothes, the finest foods, servants waiting on your every need. Give it all away and live in destitution following around a Prophet, hated by the Priest and Pharisees. Jesus did. He was clothed in finer clothes than any human ever wore, ate the most perfect and delicious foods ever eaten from heaven. Angles served Him, and worshiped Him. He gave it all up and became a human child. Human birth is a nasty thing accompanied by blood and sometimes feces, as Mary cried with pain Jesus was born on the ground in a barn, He was wrapped in strips of cloth, and laid to sleep on straw in either a cow or donkey’s feeding troth. If only the rich young ruler had listened more carefully he would have heard Jesus say, “I have true riches for you, give everything you now have away, but you will lose nothing, and you will have treasure in heaven” The Bible asks the rhetorical question, “Can a man out give God?” I dare you to try.
It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, mammon can consume the hearts of all. The rich want more money and desire power from it so they collect it because they are afraid they may someday lose it. The poor have so little they protect what little they have. But protecting it is also another way of following Mammon. The story of the Widow’s mites is told in Luke 21:1-4 (NLT) and gives us a good example of how to have true riches. “While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. "I tell you the truth," Jesus said, "this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has."” Jesus praised this woman's generous and sacrificial giving. As followers of Jesus, we should be willing to give all—whether money, time, or talents—its only real value is when we put it in the LORD’s hands to use. If Jesus was willing to be satisfied with living day by day on what God provided for Him, then I can too. I can live with less and I can stop desiring more and accumulating more things than I need. It is so easy to look at what other people have and start to resent what I am missing. Instead I should be praising God that He has provided just the sufficient amount that I needed today. When we become materialistic we are saying to God, you can’t take care of me well enough, or at least not the way I want to be taken care of, and our drive for materialism leads us to a love of money. The cure for the sickness of mammon is to trust God to meet all our needs.
Have you experienced times where you trusted God to meet all your needs? What happened? How did God fulfill this promise in your life?
Showing posts with label God's Blessings Poured Out. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Blessings Poured Out. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
II Chronicles 14:11
2 Chron 14:11 (NIV) Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, "Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you."
When Asa became King of Judah he “did what was right in the sight of the Lord.” He brought about a revival in Judah by removing idols from the land, and removed people and places that were associated with idol worship. King Asa also deposed his grandmother (the queen mother) because she had made an idol of Asherah. He did what he could to follow God. After reigning 10 years in peace and safety, the King of Ethiopia or Egypt, King Zerah, came to invade Judah. Zerah had an army of a million men and 300 chariots (A host of a thousand thousand, vs 9.) This is the largest assembled army recorded in scripture to come against God’s people. On the other hand Asa had a small army of men that “bare large shields and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand.” (2 Chronicles 14:8). Only a fool would face an army so outnumbered and so better equipped. But Asa had been faithful to God, and trusted God, and claimed God’s promises, and went to battle, powerless, but claiming victory in the name of the Lord. Asa's prayer in vs. 11, in KJV reads, [It is nothing with thee to help] in other words, God can as easily help the weak as the strong. So what does our being hopelessly outnumbered have to do with God’s ability? In the same way it is nothing for God to answer your prayers, whether really small or great big prayer request, both are just as easy for Him to answer.
The defeat of Zerah is one of the most remarkable events in the history of the Jews. Not only did they defeat them but all the food and supplies that Zerah’s army brought with them in order to sustain such a large army was captured as bounty.
God promises if we are faithful to Him, He will defeat the devourer. One way we show our trust in God, as well as our faithfulness to God is to return back to God one tenth of what He has given us. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Mal 3:10 (NIV). Like Asa our faithfulness will be rewarded from the storehouses of heavens riches and power. When we are faithful to God then God says He will be faithful to us, “I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.” Mal 3:11-12 (KJV)
When you are facing battles you feel you cannot possibly win, don't give up. In the face of a vast horde of enemy soldiers, Asa prayed for God's help, recognizing his powerlessness against such a mighty army. The secret of victory is first, like Jacob, to make a covenant with God, Jacob said, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." Gen 28:20-22(NIV). Jacob made this vow, repeating what God had already promised him. Jacob claimed the promise and surrendered dependence on God's faithfulness, as a conditional agreement, not a bargain. Then the second secret to victory is to admit the futility of unaided human effort and then to trust God to overthrow our obstacles. His power works best through those who recognize their limitations, “Gods power is made perfect in our weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). It is those who think they can do it all on their own who are in the greatest danger.
Describe a time that you cried out to God for Help? What kind of covenant have you ever made with God? Explain how you believe God answered your prayer?
When Asa became King of Judah he “did what was right in the sight of the Lord.” He brought about a revival in Judah by removing idols from the land, and removed people and places that were associated with idol worship. King Asa also deposed his grandmother (the queen mother) because she had made an idol of Asherah. He did what he could to follow God. After reigning 10 years in peace and safety, the King of Ethiopia or Egypt, King Zerah, came to invade Judah. Zerah had an army of a million men and 300 chariots (A host of a thousand thousand, vs 9.) This is the largest assembled army recorded in scripture to come against God’s people. On the other hand Asa had a small army of men that “bare large shields and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand.” (2 Chronicles 14:8). Only a fool would face an army so outnumbered and so better equipped. But Asa had been faithful to God, and trusted God, and claimed God’s promises, and went to battle, powerless, but claiming victory in the name of the Lord. Asa's prayer in vs. 11, in KJV reads, [It is nothing with thee to help] in other words, God can as easily help the weak as the strong. So what does our being hopelessly outnumbered have to do with God’s ability? In the same way it is nothing for God to answer your prayers, whether really small or great big prayer request, both are just as easy for Him to answer.
The defeat of Zerah is one of the most remarkable events in the history of the Jews. Not only did they defeat them but all the food and supplies that Zerah’s army brought with them in order to sustain such a large army was captured as bounty.
God promises if we are faithful to Him, He will defeat the devourer. One way we show our trust in God, as well as our faithfulness to God is to return back to God one tenth of what He has given us. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Mal 3:10 (NIV). Like Asa our faithfulness will be rewarded from the storehouses of heavens riches and power. When we are faithful to God then God says He will be faithful to us, “I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.” Mal 3:11-12 (KJV)
When you are facing battles you feel you cannot possibly win, don't give up. In the face of a vast horde of enemy soldiers, Asa prayed for God's help, recognizing his powerlessness against such a mighty army. The secret of victory is first, like Jacob, to make a covenant with God, Jacob said, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." Gen 28:20-22(NIV). Jacob made this vow, repeating what God had already promised him. Jacob claimed the promise and surrendered dependence on God's faithfulness, as a conditional agreement, not a bargain. Then the second secret to victory is to admit the futility of unaided human effort and then to trust God to overthrow our obstacles. His power works best through those who recognize their limitations, “Gods power is made perfect in our weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). It is those who think they can do it all on their own who are in the greatest danger.
Describe a time that you cried out to God for Help? What kind of covenant have you ever made with God? Explain how you believe God answered your prayer?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
