Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.
That is one of the more practical statements. Did you know many of the people who win the lottery just end up bankrupt in a few years after then win? This is true no only for money, but for many things in our life. If you haven't worked for something ... you really don't understand it.
Imagine the difference between two men who both own large homes. One man takes out a loan and purchases the largest house he can afford. One man works hard and builds it with his own hands. Which one will be the better home owner in the years to come?
Work for what you have. If you have the money to get stuff or the time. Don't take the easy way, rather work hard for what God has given you.
Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
You don't get by with the little wrongs. They aren't little sins ... they are an abomination to the LORD.
We go back to the store when they make a one dollar mistake against us. Do you go back when it is in your favor? When you put in your pocket what isn't yours that sick feeling in your stomach is the LORD letting you know it is wrong.
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means.
One sure way to not be tempted by money is to give it away.
Don't spend it on yourself. Not on things that will waste away. Not on clothes you don't need. Homes that are to large. Cars that are for show.
Give it away.
Buy up that which will never waste. Clothe the naked. Feed the hungry. Comfort the weary. Visit those in prison. Give what you have away.
And when you give it away you lose the burden of the temptation. For how can there be temptation when you give it no opportunity?
When I pray with my sons at night this is one thing I tend to always cover. That tomorrow they will listen to God as He speaks to their hearts.
Snips and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails are what little boys are made of. We, men and boys, tend to be creatures of action. Of running and feeling the moment. Not of listening to the pull of the Spirit upon us in the moment.
So I'll continue to pray with my sons for us to listen when God speaks.
We may want to be great. To have wealth and power. To be liked and loved. To do great things that will be remembered.
But, none of that can happen without ability and action. An athlete wouldn't dream of doing well by putting on 15 pounds of fat and sitting on the couch all day every day. Likewise we can't just do nothing and then ask God to fulfill our desires.
Solomon asked for the ability to do the task set out for him. For the tasks in your life what abilities do you need from God? Then ask for them and follow it up by using them.
"I don't believe ... I don't believe ... I don't believe ... I can't believe ..."
Ever been faced with a miracle? Do you sit there afterwords with your eyes closed and fingers in your ears crying "I don't believe".
Do not be so insistent on your own strength that you will deny God's power. God works in your life and in the life of others. In ways that make you sit back and be amazed. In ways that are foolishness to the world.
... by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord.
Do you ever think that when you sin you have utterly scorned the Lord? Anger, scorn, sexual sin, adultery, murder. We tend to think of those as being "between us". That there is a victim of the sin and a sinner. Not often do we stop to think that by sinning we are utterly scorning God. We spit in the face of His sacrifice on the cross.
I wonder how often we would sin if the gateway to get there was standing before Jesus on the cross ... and spitting on Him as we walk by to fulfill our desires.
If only I were in charge how different things would be! Yes everyone would have a free home. You would not pay anymore taxes ... that would be only for those that have taken from the poor. We all will ride unicorns that eat rainbows and save the rain forest.
I was trying to be funny, but beware of those that speak well and promise good things. Their heart is usually only upon themselves.
He was in his eighties and could still work me into the ground at the farm. He talked to me about reading Proverbs and being a godly man. His prayers were to God, and we just happened to listen in on them. He had a kind heart and a quick smile.
When I was listening to the passages about the Cities of Refuge the phrase that came to me was 'house arrest'. There were no prisons like today for involuntary manslaughter ( which the laws concerning the Cities of Refuge deal with ). But, a City of Refuge is basically the same. Except you still had to work for your living rather than be taken care of on societies dollar.
... share with him who has none. ... collect no more than you are authorized. ... do not extort money from anyone. ... be content with your wages.
I do believe that C.S. Lewis was correct in saying that God has written the Laws of what is right and wrong upon our hearts. And we do not do it. We know ... and yet we do not do.
How simple the words of John were. And how simple our minds are in not doing them. We rather listen to our flesh and desires than the prompting of God.
Run, Run, and Run. The easiest solution to situations that can lead to sin ... don't be there. Joseph was a good example. Get out, even if you have to leave something important behind.
Don't ever think that you can handle temptation while you play around with it. You WILL be burned if you continue. Leave the party. Stop flirting with your co-worker. Get a new job if you have to. Turn off the TV. Turn off the computer.
"Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them."
It isn't very often that we get in a position to control others lives like Joseph. And Joseph forgave those who sold him as a slave and cared for them and their children. God gave his only son to be beaten beyond recognition and to death upon a cross. We were the ones who wronged God ... and yet He gives us salvation.
What a little thing for us to speak kindly to those that have harmed us.
There is a trust game that many people go through at retreats. You close your eyes and fall backwards ... trusting the person behind to catch you. I once went to a church father-n-son meeting with my dad when I was little. They did a trust game where you would hold a nail and your dad took a whack at it. Which was fine and all if your dad could swing a hammer.
Actually, my Grandpa Nilson was splitting logs at our house one summer and had me hold the wedge while he swung the sledge. I would quickly let go of the wedge right as he would swing ... "Mark, hold it still. I won't miss!" So I held still.
He nailed my hand on the first swing after that.
God calls on us to commit everything to him. Don't hold anything back from Him by trusting yourself. Like my Grandpa, I'm just a man. Flawed, weak, and prone to mistakes. So why trust in my strength? Lean on God.
