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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Today's Passage : Today's Passage: Subject:The Upright Will Be Blessed Bible Verse:Psalm 112 "Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears Lord, who delights greatly in his commandments. His seed will be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house: and his righteousness endures for ever. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man is kind and generous with those in need: he will guide his affairs with discretion. For he will never be shaken; The righteous will be remembered forever. He will not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is buoyed up, he will not fear, and will finally look with satisfaction on his adversaries. He has given freely to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His name will be exalted in honor. The wicked will see it and be vexed. They will grimace and melt away; The desires of the wicked will perish. " Message:
Those who have read the New Testament closely will understand how the law of Moses applies to Christians. For those who are at an earlier stage of study, here is one quick way to summarize it in modern legal terms: Christians are no longer obligated to follow the letter of the law, but they are obligated to look to it and to follow the spirit of the law.
Difficult questions arise in the case of benefits promised under the Old Testament, and today's beautiful passage from Psalms raises one of them. Consider the verse: “[T]he generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house: . . .” God promised the Jews material benefits for following the law.
But how do we reconcile this with the teachings of Christ, which repeatedly stressed the incompatibility of serving God and serving “mammon”; consider the statement made in Matthew 19, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. . . . it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:21-23)
There are even churches that teach the ludicrous doctrine called “prosperity theology”: that if you follow Christ, you will get rich. They motivate congregations to follow Christ so that, basically, they can make more money. Well, we know that “pray and get rich quick” was not Christ's message.
But even more honest and Biblical Christians find a tension between wealth and piety; for at no point does the Bible teach us that poverty, or at least the minimal living standards adopted by Jesus and the apostles, is an absolute prerequisite for a full share of Christ's blessing.
What we must avoid is rationalization. That is, convincing ourselves that our greed is Christian, by stubbornly clinging to a line of thought that conveniently makes the Bible say what we want it to say about wealth, rather than what it actually says.
Perhaps God will bless us with a lot of money in this life. Perhaps we will make less money, due to our faith, because there are things we will not do to make money that others will do. We may certainly enjoy the good earth and its benefits.
Thankfully, there is no tension between the other promises made in Psalm 112 and the teaching of Christ and the apostles. Without doubt, a light rises up to us in the darkness, that will take away our anxiety; we can live without fear of evil tidings, our hearts buoyed up by the Holy Spirit, any time, any place: all we need to do is ask, and the peace “that passes all understanding” is ours.
So, if we are vexed by an issue having to do with money and religion, we need simply pray for peace about it. The Holy Spirit will show us the way, and, whatever decisions we make, we can find inner peace about them.
Meditation : Prayer : Finally, may I go forth filled with the joy and confidence of your Spirit; and may everything I do this day, in word or deed, be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father..... Amen |
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