Ecclesiastes 5:10 8/29/2017*12/16*

“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”

The big lie…” if I could just make more money I would be happy”.

That is the lie that keeps us on the treadmill. The belief that what we acquire will give us joy is quicksand.  Materialism, like a drug, always demands more. And when what we desire is acquired without producing the promised happiness, it plunges some into lethal hopelessness.

Money, according to this verse, is worthless in achieving contentment and happiness. Some spend years in pursuit only to finally realize that wealth does not heal the heart. 

It is the opposite of “getting” that produces joy.  The act of giving is what lifts the heart.

One of our family traditions is the giving of “nacho money” at Christmas.  An envelope full of cash is given to someone so they can give it away.  It is “not your money” it all belongs to God. Your job is to find out who God wants you to give it to, and relay back the joy produced by giving it to them.

This is when money can bring joy … when it helps others.  When it is used as an expression of love it can produce happiness.  But when it is exercised in self-love it only makes the void bigger. 

Money is not the problem. Your undying love of it is.

Don’t waste another day misunderstanding the word wealth. 

Work hard and provide for your family.  But when it comes to your heart, pursue real treasure by loving God and loving your neighbor…. use money to do both.

 

Resolve today to set yourself free from the love of money, after all it is “Nacho” money anyway.

“Money is a great servant but a bad master.”

– Francis Bacon

1 Samuel 16: 10-11 8/22/2017

"Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.””


Do you feel unimportant? 
Does it seem like you’re not the kind of person who will ever be a “world changer”?

I bet David felt that way when his father sent him out to tend sheep instead of allowing him to be considered for greatness.


But it turns out that God, and man, have very different opinions, when it comes to choosing a team.  David, whose own father didn’t think he had potential, would one day be a great king, and God would use his lineage to usher in the savior of the world.

Likewise, when Christ chose twelve guys to establish Christianity not one scribe, priest, or religious teacher was chosen.  No one that a search committee would have recommended was selected. Just a bunch of unknown guys, whom God had equipped to change the course of humanity.

Nothing about you is an accident. God has a job for you, and when He puts you in the game, trust that He has prepared you to accomplish His plan.

Don’t listen when the world discounts your ability. God personally designed you. 

Be alert. Be confident ... knowing you cannot do it by yourself is the first qualification you need to achieve greatness. 

Look for needs that you are not qualified to meet, and meet them.  Have faith in God’s power, love your neighbor, and let those two forces guide your steps.

Boldly believe that you can do all things through Christ. Then be prepared to be amazed when God calls you out of the pasture to change the world.

“God doesn't call the equipped. God equips the called.
And you have been called.”  - Rick Yancey

Matthew 16:6-9 8/15/2017

“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”  They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread. “Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand?”

I think if the phrase “shake my head” was popular 2000 years ago, we would find it often in scripture.

 

The disciples actually believed Christ was upset because they had forgotten bread.  Never mind that two chapters earlier Jesus fed 5000 people with a few fish and a couple of rolls.  Somehow, they still thought Jesus was worried about lunch.

   

The disciples, like us, have trouble looking past the small issues of life, to find the truths that matter. We restrict our view to trivial daily task and it minimizes our existence.

 

Our prayer life consists of minor requests. Our faith involves tiny leaps. And our worship is shallow, and forced.  At times God must look at us, shake His head and ask, “Do you still not understand?”

   

We need to change our focus from earthly, temporal things, to the everlasting things of God.

   

When we pray it should be about eternally significant issues.  When we step out in faith it should be outlandish… if we do this… worship and praise will be natural and extravagant.

    

Starting today, let’s stop being distracted by mundane things and focus on what Jesus deemed important.  Practice being heavenly minded, focusing on issues more important than lunch…. If we can change our focus we can then begin to “understand”.

“What consumes your mind, controls your life.”  - Unknown

Hebrews 4:12 8/8/2017

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

Have you ever heard a sermon, or read scripture and thought of someone who really needed that message?  It is natural to think of those we love, but does that ever distracted you from hearing what God is saying to you? 

The Word of God is alive.  It is dynamic and if you are hearing, or reading it, it is directed at you.  It is examining the thoughts and attitudes of your heart.  God is talking to you, not your spouse, your child, or your friend.

We must train ourselves to pay attention.  We must stop treating the word of God as though it is common and natural.  It is not.  It is like nothing we have read or heard before… it is alive, and communicating directly to us. More powerful than any weapon known to man, it is the only thing that can change our hearts.

God’s word can penetrate your very soul. It can expose things, repair things, and change things in your life.  The temptation to think the message is intended for others can distract you. That distraction interferes with the words ability to impact your own “thoughts and attitudes.”

Let’s start seeing the Word, as a personal conversation with God.  

He has a message for you and that message has power to pierce your heart and change who you are. If someone else comes to mind, jot their name down for later, but get back to the discussion. You and God have business to attend to… He’s not talking to them… He is talking to you.

“To me the Bible is not God, but it is God’s voice, and I do not hear it without awe.”  -   Charles Spurgeon

2 Timothy 3:1-5 8/1/2017

"...There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power...”

Apparently the last days will be marked by a false Christianity that does not change those who posses it.  While they talk about faith, their lives are filled with a long list of traits that deny their faith has any power.

Do we hold to a form of godliness but deny its power?
Is our faith an outward decoration - or an internal engine that drives our lives?

The old illustration of not having faith in a chair until you sit on it applicable here.  We can speak of our trust in the chair.  We can discuss how sturdy it looks, but until we sit in it we really don't know if it will hold us or not.

Unfortunately, many of us have the same relationship with our faith.  We talk about it.  We tell others how important it is to us, we have jewelry and clothing that advertise it's value...but we have yet to sit in it.  We have yet to allow ourselves to completely depend on it to hold us up......and until we do that, we are denying it's power.

Powerless faith, is both useless, and dangerous.  It is not only destructive to the holder, but to those they influence as well.

If that is you today, let's change things. Let's take a seat in godliness.  Let's become lovers of God, not lovers of pleasure.  Put your hope and trust completely in Him ... not denying His power, but betting everything on it. Godliness is not something you have, it is something that has you. It is a powerful force that should drive and direct your every thought, and action. 

Your reflection of His love will be a light to others that shows that godliness is not a decoration, but a dominate force that shapes your life.

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." - Brennan Manning