Godliness with Contentment

You have the answer

Dr. Myles Munroe said something like this before: "We are not meant to be seedful, but fruitful. There are chairs and tables are in the trees. Shoes are in the cows. The capacity to produce is in us." I don't think seedful is a real word, but hopefully you get the picture. And just how does the capacity to produce get in us? God put it there. The same God who Moses told the Israelites about in Deuteronomy 8:18 'But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,…' He has given you the ability to produce wealth. So it is in you. The answer to avoiding poverty is in you, the answer to being a blessing for others is in you. Perhaps we just need to ask the right questions of God, of others and of ourselves to find the right answer(s). What is this for you? I don't know, but there is a capacity, a creativity implanted in you by our Heavenly Father for your use to - bring glory to Him, to be fruitful because of Him, and then help others because of Him. Spend the time to figure it on out, then go.

Money or love on your mind?

This week we take a look at Philemon. He was a Christian and wealthy and a slave owner. Onesimus was Philemon's slave who had run away and probably stolen something from him. Onesimus meets Paul in his travels and becomes a Christian.
Paul encourages Onesimus to go back to Philemon and to put things right. In the letter to Philemon, Paul does not leverage any apostolic authority but appeals to Philemon on the basis of love. Paul also does not plead for Philemon to set Onesimus free but for him to accept and love him as a brother. Paul encourages Philemon to receive Onesimus as he would receive Paul.
Money does not make us better or worse than others.
2 Corinthians 5:16 says: "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view...." For Christians, we should no longer measure people by human standards of race, nationality, social standing, or possessions, definitely not the color of their skin.
 
 

Successful woman

Today we take a look at a strong successful woman in the Bible by the name of Lydia. In Lydia, we find a woman who loved God and was a businesswoman. There is not any word of a husband so she was what we may call an independent successful woman, but she is really dependent on God. She has a house, a business, and looks to be wealthy. When presented with the Word that saves, she did not allow her business or wealth to be obstacles. In fact, even prior to that, she was at the place of prayer when encountered by Paul and his companions. These things like a business or wealth can be stumbling blocks to us if we let them. Lydia does not. She chooses God.

Looking backward, upward, forward

My 52nd episode! One year's worth. A time of reflection, a time of looking to God and a time for looking forward to keep doing what God's has put on my heart to do.
I have also been reminded of the things I did wrong with money over the years. 
I did not do a good job of using my God given skills/talents to produce wealth. I wasn't trying to get out of debt or avoid it. I was afraid of money. I was not saving for my children or the future or an emergency. I was not being generous with what God had blessed me with.
Yes, I did tons of stuff wrong and now through the Scriptures I am going after learning what God says about how to handle money and then practice it.
Let's take our instructions from God and not man.

Practice Hospitality

The book of Acts has many examples of women who are willing participants in the gospel. Their role was an important one in the advancement of the gospel. Today we look at one of them in Mary the mother of Mark in Acts 12. An angel breaks Peter out of prison. Once out and Peter realizes that this is real, he goes to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Many people were there praying for Peter's release. This house was one of the places where the Christians would have gathered. Early in the history of the church, there were no church buildings, and local groups would meet in the homes of Christians whose house was big enough to accommodate it. Mary was most likely a wealthy widow (no husband mentioned and she had a servant girl) and she had opened her home as one of the meeting places for the church. Mary used her wealth to offer hospitality even in risky times. Hospitality is not for women alone but for men as well.

Gifts reaching heaven

Cornelius seems to have been wealthy. Cornelius was not a chairman of a non-profit organization, he spent his own money to help the needy. He decided to be generous with what he had. He saw needs and went after meeting them. I believe that his giving was motivated by his relationship with God.
As a believer today, is your giving motivated by your relationship with God?
One of the principles I have seen in the Bible is that when we use money the way God desires, generosity is involved. A principle does not change because of the circumstances.
 
*You may be listening to this and saying, I don’t have centurion money. That's fine. You can be generous without plenty money. It has to do with your heart not the size of your wallet.
*You may be saying, if I give from what I have then I will have less. Sounds reasonable, but what does the Bible say? The Scripture tells us in 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 "Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
God will bless you and has blessed you so that you can be generous. Through your generosity, men and women's needs will be met, and will result in thanksgiving to God. The same God will continue to supply and increase your store so that you can continue to do the same over and over again.
*Then you may say, people are ungrateful and they won't say thanks. Well what happened with Cornelius should be good enough to help our hearts. It never said that the poor were grateful (they may have been or not), but what it did say was that his giving reached heaven. Cornelius pleased God with his giving whether people on earth said thanks or not. Our giving should meet needs, yes, but our relationship with God should prompt the giving. Ultimately, generosity for Christians should be about that.

Right money, right hands, right time

Today we take a look at Joseph of Arimathea in the gospels. He was described as a disciple in secret yet he stepped up at the right time to secure Jesus' body after the crucifixion and gave Jesus a respectful burial in his own tomb. Some of us have an issue with rich people and even rich Christians. Yet this man uses his wealth to serve Jesus when others did not or could not. He was blessed by God with wealth and used it now - for such a time as the burial of Jesus. Money was used by Levi to hold a banquet in Jesus' honor so that he could get fellow tax collectors to meet Jesus. Money was used in Jesus' ministry to take care of his needs and the needs of the apostles.  Money was used by the woman who bought the alabaster jar of perfume and anointed Jesus with it in preparation for his burial. And here, money was used by Joseph to take care of Jesus in his death and burial. Money is used to take the gospel to millions today and help the poor and needy. For the 49th time, money is a tool and we are to use it the way God desires. Let's find out how he wants us to use it. Here, Joseph saw a need and filled it, bringing glory to God. One good place to start is by looking for the needs.

Zacchaeus - Out On A Limb

Zacchaeus was wealthy. Some would say that he got his money by cheating people out of their taxes by overcharging them. But that is not what Luke says, nor Jesus nor Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus says "if" he had cheated anyone out of anything. Not that he did. Sometimes today we look at people who are wealthy and can wonder what illegal thing they did to get wealthy. Some people do it right. They work hard, they spend less than they make, they invest. It grows. I get the impression that Zacchaeus was like that. Honest and hard working - I know boring. It is more exciting to think that he cheated people. Because he was a tax collector and the Jews shunned him, it was easy to say he was a cheat.

Young, Rich, Powerful, Yet Sad

Isn't money supposed to bring happiness? Isn't all our problems to go away with money? Apparently not. It didn't with this rich young man in mark 10:17-23. Don’t be fooled. It won't work with you either.

Giving in Secret

I get to talk about money from the Bible's perspective. God wants his followers to give to the needy. He has blessed you to give to the needy. In addition, this is focused on the individual. You may say that the church I attend gives to the needy - Amen for that, but here he speaks not to the church but the individual. Each of us as his followers should give to the needy.
So when we give, Jesus says:
-do not announce it in the synagogues or street corners (the hypocrites do it that way). Don't blow your own trumpet. They are giving to be seen and they get their reward of being seen, but they miss out on God's reward.
-he also says, do not let you right hand know what your left hand is doing - give in secret. You will get God's rewards