Jesus is speaking to my heart about 'stuff' these days. This has actually been going on for quite a while. I've found that our 'stuff' is a serious hot button topic. People don't really like to talk about their 'stuff'. So I will just talk about mine =). It seems that there is much power in money and possessions, just like the world says, but its power lies in binding one's heart. If we look at history objectively, we can see that there is no currency or possession that has withstood the test of time. Humanity is the only eternal deposit we can make.
There are haves and have nots in the world. I am a have; an Esther inside the gates for such a time as this. For many years there was much talk at my house about the things we would do for others when 'this or that financial piece fell into place'. But as I read the scriptures a simple truth reveals itself to me: I have been given much so that I have much to give as He calls me forth in this dark world. The New Testament church folk did not have possessions to sell upon becoming the New Testament church for their individual security but rather to take care of one another and go to the least, the lost and the broken of the world. The same is true for us today! Our security is in Jesus. All of our 'stuff' was given to us to be poured out- freely!- for the sake of others. It is really quite simple. If we stay close to Jesus and listen to Him, we will know exactly when to 'cash in' and let our resources flow to whomever He wishes to direct them.
Jesus and I have been discussing over the last few years my apparent 'stuff attachment disorder', my double mindedness with depending on Him and Him alone and whether or not I would be willing to give Him everything. This was a heart issue, my friends. I wish the rich young man in the story below had hung out with Jesus and talked this out a little longer like I have done. I think his story would have turned out much differently. I've discovered so many things along this journey. One of the most surprising things I've learned is that Jesus likes to answer our questions. That is a beautiful thing! I've discovered that His provision is better than our 'stuff', His promises are better than our plans, His joy is better than our happiness and His peace is better than our portfolios. I am ETERNALLY grateful for this knowledge that makes it ever so easy to say, without batting an eye, "it's all yours, Jesus. Take it! And let's GO!" Now, that's enough to scare the daylights out of the rest of my family. It's good that Jesus knows each and every one of our hearts and sees the whole picture, yes? Ha! What a PERSONAL, loving, wonderful God we serve.
Shalom from the farm to you today!
~L
*This post got a rewrite due to the fact that Weebly decided to delete half of the original article ;(. Sorry if this caused any confusion!
Jesus and I have been discussing over the last few years my apparent 'stuff attachment disorder', my double mindedness with depending on Him and Him alone and whether or not I would be willing to give Him everything. This was a heart issue, my friends. I wish the rich young man in the story below had hung out with Jesus and talked this out a little longer like I have done. I think his story would have turned out much differently. I've discovered so many things along this journey. One of the most surprising things I've learned is that Jesus likes to answer our questions. That is a beautiful thing! I've discovered that His provision is better than our 'stuff', His promises are better than our plans, His joy is better than our happiness and His peace is better than our portfolios. I am ETERNALLY grateful for this knowledge that makes it ever so easy to say, without batting an eye, "it's all yours, Jesus. Take it! And let's GO!" Now, that's enough to scare the daylights out of the rest of my family. It's good that Jesus knows each and every one of our hearts and sees the whole picture, yes? Ha! What a PERSONAL, loving, wonderful God we serve.
Shalom from the farm to you today!
~L
*This post got a rewrite due to the fact that Weebly decided to delete half of the original article ;(. Sorry if this caused any confusion!
The Rich Young Man
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
-Mark 10-17-31
“If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.” ― Stephen Colbert
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." -Matthew 19:21
They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. -Acts 2:45
...that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales. -Acts 4:34
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. -Matthew 10:8
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: "For I was hungry and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. -Matthew 25:34-36
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. -John 13:14
