Glory to God on this Sunday. I am excited to start up the blog again. I am not sure how I will find time, but I will count on God to provide. I once shared with some Christian friends that God does bend our time. If we honor Him with an abundance of time, He will bend it further to provide. Just as He bends our pocketbooks when we tithe, He will do the same with our 24 hour days. I am living proof of that. Praise and Glory! He is so good, and I will not take my salvation for granted! Lest you ever rest too much in your salvation. Beg for an urgency in your heart to reach out to the lost. We have plenty of work to do until He comes back. It is the kind of work that is out of a response to grace, not the "works equals favor" thought process. Fight that off, daily. The simple equation is:
You asked Jesus into your heart. It was a sincere plea, that you now understand you need a Savior, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Then, out of grace, you were saved, a sinner. You repented, changed your ways. The Holy Spirit now inhabits your being, and assists with continual conversion until your last day on earth. You read your Bible daily and quiet your life down to hear what God has been trying to always say to you. You respond by changing your life, shedding your sinful desires, habits and negative, destructive people. You accept that you will receive opposition, most fiercely from family and close friends. You have a joy in your heart that makes that rejection tolerable, because you are praying for them now, and in time, many of them will come to Christ. Nothing can compare with having an eternal Father. When we were lost, we didn't even know how lost we were!
Money is Dirt. Does that make you uncomfortable? I am currently reading Bonhoeffer. It is a large book. Do not at all be intimidated by that. I am half way through. It is not hard reading. Don't you think that if you are in the season of your life that you are reading a Born Again's blog, that you also are at a level of maturity that this country (USA), cannot appreciate? Do you really want to spend your time finding out about Tom Cruise's divorce? Is that news? How about the news story here below that the major networks declined to mention?
http://global.christianpost.com/news/fifty-christians-burned-alive-in-pastors-home-in-nigeria-78303/#hZemZSAjdqlpPDwe.01
I know you are big, strong Spiritual Warriors for Christ. I am certain you are out exploring the real news, and are using discernment in this evil world to find this through good Christian sources. Glory to God, who expands our minds to the important things of life! He increases our intelligence, burns away the cobwebs, and makes His interests, our interests. We now cry for what He cries for! On the the dirt....
I need to also tell you about another book. It is called Enough. It is by author, Will Davis, Jr. It is a book about how we need to really get rid of our stuff, our too large of houses, our fancy SUV's, quit obtaining things for happiness and just say "enough". We work too many hours, have too much debt, ignore our family for the sake of building our retirement. Examples:
I don't have much, but what I have, I own. This past few weeks, I had a garage door opener that I had to replace ($355.00) and my sunroof of my car is malfunctioning. Due to the dry summer, I haven't had it pour in on me yet. Trying to just get it to seal and leave it. I heard a lady on TV (watched a little local news). She was bitterly complaining that she had just put new sod down, and now she has to water it so much, her water bill went up! Who cares! If you can afford sod, you can afford water. Why are we reporting such news? Maybe, interview the farmers. Stop with that.
The point being, is that I don't need a sunroof or garage door opener. I never had either in my days of less. I never had sod. I can say, no one really needs any of these three items.
I remember saying many years ago, that the more toys you have, the more trouble. You are constantly on the phone, internet or shopping to repair, replace and maintain these things. Boats, travel-trailers, cabins, video cameras, etc. They are causing you distress, as you are trying to make them new again. It is taking time, keeping them at the level you bought them in. They truly own you, to a point.
I was talking with some adults yesterday, women about 8 years younger than me. We were talking about the "drought" and then about the drought around mid 1980's. Our local area was hit hard then. The farm economy took a huge hit, interest rates were high, unemployment was extremely high, and our two major factories shut down in our area. Actually, it was sort of a ghost town here. Many moved to Texas for work. My parents moved to South Carolina, and stayed there for 11 years!
What was interesting is that many times, we miss details of trends in our environment. I mentioned that back then, the banks and credit union parking lots were full of campers, boats and cars, that people had lost to the bank. It was horrific!
What is more alarming, is that these two ladies could not recall this. Tell me, readers that you are looking around, and taking notice of things. Tell me you are not wasting His precious time. Be alert.
The Good News is this: If you ask your heavenly Father what He wants of you, and you are sincere with your prayer, He will assist you to know how much is too much. I have decided in my heart, and expressed to a witness/friend, that if my income ever increases above $60,000, I do not need more. I will give away the rest. Why not come up with a plan like that? Why not plan ahead for success, and a way out so that you will not be trying to walk that camel through the eye of a needle. (Read Luke 18:25). Actually, there are scholars that believe there was a narrow gate in the Jerusalem wall called the Needle. It was designed for walking access only. Travelers could not use this entrance if they were bogged down with goods and a beast (camel). Don't get caught up on anything other than what Jesus is saying here. If you have a lot of stuff and money, it makes it nearly impossible to enter heaven, because excess changes us. It changes our hearts. And as Satan works, he works slowly and methodically. He and his demons have been studying humans for at least, thousands of years. And if Satan knows how to get your goat, imagine how easy it is for him to get your goat if you are secure, rich, and surrounded by beautiful things. You are just lulled to sleep in what you "Gained due to your hard work and blessing by God". Watch out. The most joyful Christians are those in 3rd World Countries, who live 15 to a 12' x 12' room. They worship in the presence of missionary teams like we can never imagine here in the USA. Praising God, dancing, speaking in tongues and shouting for hours. They leave their makeshift worship center to walk back into their world of rape, hunger, drug and alcohol abuse. We have so few missionaries, and so much need. I am planning a missionary journey in the year 2013. I can't put this off any longer. My Heavenly Father said to me, "I have so much for you to see", in regards to a world of need. A need for a Jesus Christ. They are so open to hearing about Jesus. Their childlike faith is something our "religious" lack. They don't sit around and argue at Bible Studies like we do about divisive social issues, how loud the music is at service today, why the prayer team is talking about faith healing, etc. They just try to figure out who is going to carry the water (if they even have a well), and ration out food.
Would you dare join me and get to the point of searching out deep and perplexing real issues? This blog reflects the issue of how much is enough. By the way, if you have an annual income of $20,000 in the United States, you are in the top 11% of the richest people in the world.
I started saying about 20 years ago that I did not want to win the lottery because it would change me and my entire life. I was a young punk, living in sin. Living religious with my once in awhile worship. But, Glory to God, I had my head somewhat straight then, to keep me grounded for this time now. When I said that then, I got objections like you would not believe! Now, I don't say it, because I quit gambling of any kind. It offends me, as they Roman officers gambled at the foot of the cross. No need to talk about it, unless someone wants to open up that door. That will be another blog.
Take time to reflect on this.
Luke 18: 22-25 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then, come, follow me." When he heard this he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God".
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