Christians And Money

Luke 16:8-13

 

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.  I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

This whole passage is about money: How we manage our finances shows our views of God and His provisions. We can learn from the world about financial management because they can be wiser in money matters than Christians, who can be naive, thinking that it's "holier" to disdain handling "filthy lucre." But money is a tool, it has no intrinsic moral value either good or bad. If we make Money a god, a goal in itself, that is evil, so loving money is at odds with loving God. Learning good financial practices is just as righteous a concept as any "holy" activity. Money is a tool that we need to learn more about how to use, in order to promote God's Kingdom, as His hands and feet.

Note: See also my post of June 24, 2015.

Paul's Final Charge

II Timothy 4:1-2, 6-8

 

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, - Keeping my focus on the spiritual, eternal Truths; and expecting Jesus' appearing, when He will judge, and set up His Kingdom.

I give you this charge: - This is what I need to do.

Preach the word; - God's Word, not theories of men.

be prepared in season and out of season; - When I've planned it, and when it's spontaneous.

correct, rebuke and encourage -- Whatever the hearer needs.

with great patience - Don't rush it, there's time.

and careful instruction. - Watch your words.

For I am already being  poured out like a drink offering, - Paul was suffering and in pain.

and the time has come for my departure. - He fully expected to die soon.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. - 'Nuff said.

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, -   The reward.

Which the Lord, the righteous Judge, - Jesus.

will award me on that day -- The Day of His Appearing.

And not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing. - Everyone who is focused on the spiritual, and are eagerly expecting Him to come soon.

The Body

I Corinthians 12:14-20

 

The body is a unit - It is one, unified into a single entity.

though it is made up of many parts; - body parts, gross when separated from the body, and won't work unless connected to the body.

and though all its parts are many, they form one body. - Each body is made up of various kinds of cells that become different kinds of organs, etc.

So it is with Christ. - God's Annointed is One, yet made up of many kinds of parts.

For we were all baptized by one Spirit - The same One immersed all of us, each one of us.

into one body --  Now we are all a part of one another.

whether Jews or Greeks - No matter our birth pedigree.

slave or free -- No matter our political or economic standing.

and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. - To slake our spiritual thirst; to be filled with, controlled by.

Now the body is not made up of one part but many. - A lot of different kinds of parts comprising one whole.

If the foot should say, - Have this attitude.

"Because I'm not a hand," - Envy of another's ability.

"I do not belong to the body," - I'm not important or needed.

It would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. - Attitude does not change reality.

And if the ear should say, -  Again, attitude.

"Because I'm not an eye," - Envy of another's perception.

"I do not belong to the body," - Not connected or appreciated.

it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. - Again, perception is not necessarily reality.

If the whole body were an eye, -  All perceive by seeing.

where would the sense of hearing be? - No one would be able to hear.

If the whole body were an ear, - Blind, but hearing.

where would the sense of smell be? - No one would catch the whiff of decay, nor the fragrance of a rose.

But in fact God has arranged - It's His plan and doing, not ours.

the parts in the body, - He designed and engineered it.

every one of them, - Each part has an important part to play.

just as He wanted them to be. - His choice, not ours.

If they were all one part, where would the body be? - If we were all the same, it wouldn't work.

As it is, - Reality.

there are many parts - We are all different. 

but one body. - It takes all of our different personalities, abilities, gifts, etc. to get everything done and make it work.




 

Who Do We Pray To?

John 16:26-28

 

In that day - The day is now, when Jesus began to speak plainly about the Father to the disciples, without using figurative speech.

you will ask - He says we will ask, we will converse with God and ask for what we need, without fear.

in My Name. - When we ask in Jesus' Name, we are admitting that Jesus is the Authority, not myself, and the term refers to His Kingdom.

I'm not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. - Jesus will not triangulate between us and the Father. When we involve a third person to communicate with a second person for us, the first person, it is not a psychologically healthy way to relate, because it shows a fear of the second person. Our communication needs to be directly with the second person for a healthy encounter. Jesus refuses to enable us to give in to our fear.

No, the Father Himself loves you - God Himself loves us, and His love is perfect. Perfect love casts out fear, so we need have no fear when we pray directly to God and ask Him for whatever it is we need.

because you have loved me -  The Father Himself loves us because we love Jesus.

and have believed that I came from God. - We trust that He really is who He says He is (came from God) and has finished, accomplished the work He came to do in paying off the debt we owe for our sins, and purchasing the World.

I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father - Because He finished His work and fulfilled the purpose for His coming, He is now returning to the Father to complete the rest of His plans for us.




 

God And America

Job 12:23-25

 

He makes nations great, and destroys them - God has blessed America and made her powerful in the world, a super-power, to spread her Godly influence into other nations; then God can destroy her, He is taking away her blessings, our influence in the world is waning and there is talk of our Dollar not being regarded as the world's currency.

He enlarges nations, and disperses them - We see God having done this in Israel: They were a world power under David and Solomon, but after that they waned and were eventually dispersed among all the other nations. The same can and may happen in America.

He deprives the leaders of the Earth of their reason - Our American president and Congress cannot be reasoned with, they have their own agendas, and history and logic are twisted.

He sends them wandering through a trackless waste - Economically they are leading us into places no one has had the timerity to go before.

They grope in darkness with no light - They do Quantitave Easings and raise the debt ceiling beyond anything that has ever been done before.

He makes them stagger like drunkards - 'nuff said! 




 

God Is Light

I John 1:5

 

God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all; no shadow of turning, pure light.

3:2

 

Now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

4:12a

 

No one has ever seen God . . .

When Moses spent time with God on the mountain, and actually saw God's "back," he came down from that mountain glowing, so that he had to wear a veil over his face.

God is pure, unadulterated light, with no "shadow of turning." Our eyes are incapable, unable to "see" light, we need shadows to define what we're looking at; pure light would be a glare, that would burn our eyes to look at, like looking into the Sun, which is a "light holder" reflecting a small portion of God's glory. But when Jesus returns, and our bodies are "changed," then we'll have "new eyes" and will be able to behold Him, see Him as He is.

Thoroughly Equipped

II Timothy 3:14-17

Personalized Paraphrase:

As for me, I must continue in the Truth I was taught since I was a child, which led me to the Salvation You granted me so many years ago, and continues to inform me through my trust in Your Word and the faithfulness of my Savior, Christ Jesus. Because I know that the whole Bible is the Holy Scripture that You, God, breathed into Your prophets to write down, and all of it as a whole is for teaching me what to believe, calling me out on what I do wrong, fixing my weaknesses and errors, and training me in the Godly lifestyle You, Father, made me to live. Then I will be thoroughly equipped and fitted to accomplish every good work You planned ahead of time for me to do for Your glory and toward Your kingdom here on this Earth, that Your will shall be done down here just as it is done now in Heaven. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!