17] As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. [18] They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, [19] thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.(1 Timothy 6:17-19 ESV)
I have seen these verses be used as a call to socialism. Of course that would be a misrepresentation of what is written. I have also seen these verses to make those give out of guilt, which is also another misrepresentation of Scripture. This is not support the taking of monies from the rich through taxes to be supposedly redistributed to the poor, nor is it to make the rich feel so guilty that they are to give just to satisfy their guilt. If a wealthy person is truely born again and living under the power of the Holy Spirit, he/she will be compelled to give and do good works with their wealth because it is in their new nature in Christ. God does not want someone to give begrudgingly, He wants a giver who is cheerful (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Those who are not wealthy by worldly standards are not off the hook either. Believers have an immeasuarble wealth far beyond money and riches. Our treasure is stored in heaven and what we are rich in, we can take with us to Heaven. We have to be responsible with our wealth as well. We are not to hoarde our wealth. We need to be ready to share our wealth with those in need. How could we not be cheerful in giving from our wealth, of course that would be sharing the Gospel. It is because of the Gospel that we can be assured of the greatest treasure that God offers, and that is eternal life in fellowship with Him. No other treasure or measure of wealth can even come remotely close to the treasure of eternal fellowship with our Saviour.
If you are reading this and are not born again, today is the day of salvation. We are all wretched sinners in the eyes of God. He demands perfection, which is not possible for any one of us to achieve. That is why He sent his son, Jesus, to fulfill the perfect and sinless life we are not able to ful fill so that he can be the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins once and for all. Our sins (past, present, and future) were placed upon him and he bore the wrath of God so that we do not have to. He died and rose again so that through faith in Him, repentence from our sins, and confession we can have His rightousness placed upon us. We receive the greatest treasure not by what we do, but by the work that has been completed on the cross.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Monday, March 8, 2010
How Do We Love God?
Jenn and I have been reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan together. We have been watching the intro videos on line and reading the corresponding chapter. Tonight we read Chapter 3 titled Crazy Love, and it really convicted me. It made me realize that I have not always showed our Heavenly Father the love He wants from us. So many times we serve Him thinking it is out of a pure "crazy" love for him, when in reality it is through some kind of pious duty in our minds. Well I should not speak for us all, but that is what has been my personal experience at times in the past.
I feared Him, not out of reverence toward him, but out of fear of punishment for sin. Of course He must punish us for our sins. (For the wages of sin is death-Romans6:23). I sometimes forget He also wants us to come to Him with that sense of trust, security, and comfort. Imagine how our children come to us with that sense of trust, security, and comfort. Even more so, we must go to the Father as our own children come to us. If we desire it from our own children, then imagine how much more He desires it from us. Our love for our children is nothing compared to our Heavenly Father's love for us. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for the forgiveness of our sins.
I feared Him, not out of reverence toward him, but out of fear of punishment for sin. Of course He must punish us for our sins. (For the wages of sin is death-Romans6:23). I sometimes forget He also wants us to come to Him with that sense of trust, security, and comfort. Imagine how our children come to us with that sense of trust, security, and comfort. Even more so, we must go to the Father as our own children come to us. If we desire it from our own children, then imagine how much more He desires it from us. Our love for our children is nothing compared to our Heavenly Father's love for us. He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for the forgiveness of our sins.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Why did He ask?
Mark 10:46-52
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
This happens to be something many people have asked in the past. I have been asked, and I myself asked in the past. "Why did Jesus ask the blind man what he wanted for Jesus to do for him? Did Jesus really have to ask since He is God? Was Jesus trying to be funny?
Believe it or not, I have actually heard it from the pulpit that Jesus had a sense of humor, and that was the reason he asked. That is horrible! Of course Jesus knew what the blind man wanted. Not only by the mere fact that the blind man was, well....uh....BLIND! If the blind man had an ailment that was not obvious that he wanted healing from, Jesus would have known that also.
The reason Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted was to give him a chance to publicly display his trust in Jesus. When he showed his faith in Jesus by telling Him his request, Jesus responded by telling him his faith has made him well, and told him to go on his way. Not only do we see a sense of physical healing, we also see a sense of Spiritual healing. The second part of v. 52 we read that the blind man did recover his sight, but did not go his own way. He chose to follow Jesus instead. At that point he forsake all to follow Christ as we should all do when we are spiritually healed of our sin. Not only do we see Him as Saviour, but we also view Him as Lord and follow Him.
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
This happens to be something many people have asked in the past. I have been asked, and I myself asked in the past. "Why did Jesus ask the blind man what he wanted for Jesus to do for him? Did Jesus really have to ask since He is God? Was Jesus trying to be funny?
Believe it or not, I have actually heard it from the pulpit that Jesus had a sense of humor, and that was the reason he asked. That is horrible! Of course Jesus knew what the blind man wanted. Not only by the mere fact that the blind man was, well....uh....BLIND! If the blind man had an ailment that was not obvious that he wanted healing from, Jesus would have known that also.
The reason Jesus asked the blind man what he wanted was to give him a chance to publicly display his trust in Jesus. When he showed his faith in Jesus by telling Him his request, Jesus responded by telling him his faith has made him well, and told him to go on his way. Not only do we see a sense of physical healing, we also see a sense of Spiritual healing. The second part of v. 52 we read that the blind man did recover his sight, but did not go his own way. He chose to follow Jesus instead. At that point he forsake all to follow Christ as we should all do when we are spiritually healed of our sin. Not only do we see Him as Saviour, but we also view Him as Lord and follow Him.
Getting back into it
Well it has been quite some time since I have posted any kind of blog. It has been part of not having anything to say, not having any time, and just plain being lazy. There have been many days I have been wanting to get on and do something on here, but I just don't.
Today I conducted my first Sunday School class in our newly painted 207 Building at church. I got there late because of a flat tire on my van. In the past I would have thrown a fit like a five year old, but thank God I am nowhere near like that anymore. I remained calm and was able to get a ride for Jenn and the kids to get to the church and pops let me borrow his truck. I got to the church a little late but I was able to do a full lesson. The good news was that I had two students waiting for me to get there. The bad news is they were the only students that arrived. Yes, I do get discouraged at times when I have a low attendance, but I do get encouraged becuase the few that are there becuase they truely want to be there. That makes teaching a whole lot easier. I love teaching adults because it is not like teaching some children who might not really want to be there, although i do not believe that to be the attitude of the children at Chruch of Grace. My prayer is that the members of the church body around the world develops that hunger for the Word to where they want to learn more and more of it. We had a good lesson on the characteristics of God and how He is different from us. No matter how big or small the class is, there always seems to be good discussion, which really encourages me.
The evening ended with a prayer service at Prime Iglesia Bautista in Corpus Christi. A few Baptist churches in the area got together there and simply prayed. Prayer, wow, what a concept. Too many times we forget the simple basic practice of prayer in the church. Too many times we get caught up in the many "performances" and "shows" that occurr in church buildings that we forget about prayer. We sometimes even forget about prayer in our own homes. The many churches in our country sometimes feel like we are in competition with one another and we forget to prayer for one another. This evening we were able to pray for one another. We were able to pray for our own pastors and leaders as well for the pastors and leaders of other churches. We were all able to come from our own buildings together in one building as one Church body, being the Body of Christ. I pray that this is not a one time only event, that this will be common practice and to include other churches around the area.
Today I conducted my first Sunday School class in our newly painted 207 Building at church. I got there late because of a flat tire on my van. In the past I would have thrown a fit like a five year old, but thank God I am nowhere near like that anymore. I remained calm and was able to get a ride for Jenn and the kids to get to the church and pops let me borrow his truck. I got to the church a little late but I was able to do a full lesson. The good news was that I had two students waiting for me to get there. The bad news is they were the only students that arrived. Yes, I do get discouraged at times when I have a low attendance, but I do get encouraged becuase the few that are there becuase they truely want to be there. That makes teaching a whole lot easier. I love teaching adults because it is not like teaching some children who might not really want to be there, although i do not believe that to be the attitude of the children at Chruch of Grace. My prayer is that the members of the church body around the world develops that hunger for the Word to where they want to learn more and more of it. We had a good lesson on the characteristics of God and how He is different from us. No matter how big or small the class is, there always seems to be good discussion, which really encourages me.
The evening ended with a prayer service at Prime Iglesia Bautista in Corpus Christi. A few Baptist churches in the area got together there and simply prayed. Prayer, wow, what a concept. Too many times we forget the simple basic practice of prayer in the church. Too many times we get caught up in the many "performances" and "shows" that occurr in church buildings that we forget about prayer. We sometimes even forget about prayer in our own homes. The many churches in our country sometimes feel like we are in competition with one another and we forget to prayer for one another. This evening we were able to pray for one another. We were able to pray for our own pastors and leaders as well for the pastors and leaders of other churches. We were all able to come from our own buildings together in one building as one Church body, being the Body of Christ. I pray that this is not a one time only event, that this will be common practice and to include other churches around the area.
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