Introduction
In Lifebytes 66 through 69 we discussed
how necessary power in the Holy
Spirit will be for followers of
Jesus in the days to come. Also noted were the evil forces that
are keeping God’s people from currently walking in His
power. We walk in the power of the Spirit as we obediently
manifest the gift(s) of spiritual empowerment He’s given
each of His own to extend His Kingdom.
The Spirit’s use of you through the
gift(s) He has apportioned you evidences our Lord’s ownership of you as His beloved servant. Without the indwelling
Spirit, you are unreconciled with the Father — still
owned by Satan and a slave to sin despite your religious
rituals and practices: “If
anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9).
What are indicators that you and those you
fellowship with are truly living in His spiritual power? Your
weekly gatherings will resound with
testimonies as to how Jesus has
used you during the week! And, like David in so many of his
psalms, you’ll praise and thank Him for His love and faithfulness despite whatever you’re going through.
If testimonies and grateful worship are not the hallmark of
your gatherings each week (or even part of your ongoing
conversations with your faith family), then you need to
reconsider individually and collectively the nature of your
relationship with our Lord Jesus. Either you don’t belong
to Him, or your lives are dominated by unconfessed sin. In
either case, your love for Him and obedient trust in Him are
lacking. If you aren’t carrying out His Spirit-empowered
purpose for you in His Kingdom, you’re saying in your
heart that you are the lord of your life.
Ask yourself this: Do you really want to
finish your pilgrimage on earth without wholeheartedly seeking to do the
will of the One you purport to love? Far better that you repent
now rather than go on in life resisting His will and the
obedience which pleases Him and brings Him praise (see
Philippians 2:13).
Greed: Sin Run Amok
If you’re not finding the Spirit of
Christ working in and through you to others, then you may be
captive to a pervasive sin that is a snare and a trap
nationwide at this time. That sin
is greed. While the media today
speaks much about greed, nobody is calling it what it really is: sin.
Nor is anyone calling for repentance for this sin.
Rather, the news represented in the media
is looking to Wall Street or Washington to get this nation out
of what is perceived as an “economic problem”. Yet
in our God’s sight, the plight in which this nation finds
itself is a spiritual predicament, not an economic one.
This land is dominated by the sin of greed. Even
many who claim to be Christian violate His Word when it comes
to how they view money. Do you see, it isn’t the amount of money you
have that makes you greedy. Rather, it’s how you view it —
your heart’s motivation toward temporal things.
A person who considers him/herself to
belong to our Lord Jesus is hindered by the sin of greed
primarily in two areas:
1. Any greed within you displays distrust that
God will ultimately provide for you.
2. Your greed exhibits your lack of
concern for the dignity and welfare of others who are less
fortunate than you.
1. Any greed within you displays distrust that God
will ultimately provide for you.
From our God’s perspective, the sin
of greed slaps His face. Biblically, greed is idolatry,
compromising your trust in the One True God with hunger for the
things the world treasures. Have we learned nothing from the
piteous example set us by the grumbling Israelites in the
desert who tainted their experiences of God with the ways of
the pagan world? (See 1 Corinthians 10:1-14.) It’s not what we say that
validates our life in Christ, but how
we live.
Any amount of
greed or fleshly longing for the things of this world shows
just how dominated you are by yourself rather than relying in trust in the sovereignty
of God. Where your wealth is, there your heart is also (Matthew
6:21) — and our God is seeking your love from all of your heart
and soul. The love to which Jesus refers is agape, that in which
you find your joy and direct your will in pursuing. As Lord
Jesus makes clear, there can be no
compromise:
No one 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” (Matthew 6:24).
There is no gray area in our Lord’s
warning. You will love one and hate the other. No matter how
you try to rationalize, your choice will prove where your heart
really is (Romans 8:5-8).
How can you know that you’re not
influenced by greed? You must first understand the
connection between greed and idolatry. When most people think of an idol, they may
envision statues or prominent celebrities or even overarching
ambitions or activities in their lives. Yet Paul specifically
ties greed to idolatry: “Put
to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:
sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).
Few Christians in this nation would
consider themselves idolatrous. But those who are beset by the
sin of greed expect God to fulfill their desires because
that’s what they’ve been taught by unbiblical
preachers! From pulpit to pew many have been influenced by the
demonically undergirded “health
and wealth gospel” and “church growth movement” that focus on worldly gratification and
nullification of sin. Countless Christians today fail to be
convicted of how serious their sin of greed is in God’s
sight!
Many noted teachers throughout Christendom
now command the same pay and benefits as executives in
corporate America receive (Matthew 23:25). If they’re
perceiving wealth as a sign of God’s favor on them, how
can such liars ever call people to repent of the same greed
that they’re indulging?
Let’s define greed and idolatry so
that we can see why Paul would associate the two:
• Greed is an intense selfish desire for something
without regard for whether it is God’s will for you.
• Idolatry is an extreme admiration or reverence for
something or someone that replaces your devotion to our God.
Greed and idolatry are two sides of the
same coin. Both, in one form or another, negate our God’s
unrivaled place in our lives and His requirements for us to
live in a union of love-grounded
obedient trust with Him. This is
the basis to a biblical, Covenant way of life, a life comprised
of complete trust in Him and total, loving devotion to Him.
The desire for money and the things it can
buy is one of the greatest temptations Christians in the United
States face. The economic downfall of this nation has been
brought about by an insatiable desire to acquire something beyond a basic need.
Churched or not, much of this
nation has been blinded by a profound incapacity to distinguish
between soulish wants and authentic needs.
This focused pursuit of self-gratification
drives both those who claim to love Christ as well as those who
have no interest in following Him. The same idolatrous greed
underlies the deceit that we deserve more, whether because we feel God owes us (or has
“promised” us), or because we’ve worked so
hard to “upgrade” our lifestyle.
What a blasphemy of the name of our Lord
that Christians are caught up in idolatrous greed, chasing the
same goals as the unbelievers around them! And how few stop to
question whether what they’re so desperately trying to
acquire or maintain is God’s
will for them.
Contentment is
a virtue that’s a rare commodity these days. Paul’s
admonition in 1 Timothy 6:8 to be gratefully satisfied with
having food and clothing seems to have little meaning in a
country such as this that’s become accustomed to luxury.
(And this from an apostle who had experienced devastating
poverty in his journey of obedient trust in His Lord!)
On the banks of the Jordan River John
commanded contentment with wages from the Roman soldiers who
responded to his preaching to repent. These men were used to
extorting money, yet they were being called to a major
lifestyle shift that would evidence fruit of a changed life
(Luke 3:8,9,14).
No wonder so little impact for the Kingdom
has been made on this country. Those outside His realm see no difference in the
lives of those who claim to be His yet voice the same
discontent as they do.
The Greek word used for “love”
of money means that you covet both it and what it can buy you.
In light of Paul’s warning below, how would you evaluate
your own “love of money”?
For the love of money is a root of all kinds
of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and
pierced themselves with many griefs (1
Timothy 6:10).
Do you agree that love for God and love of
money can’t co-exist in your life? Pause here and reflect
on the many ways that a desire for
money — for what it can buy
you in material goods, in esteem by others, or even in a sense
of earthly security — can diminish your devotion to God
and even lure you away from trusting Him.
Any love for
money is going to wreck your faith if it hasn’t already.
One of the many reasons Christians fall into the sin of greed
is that they fail to see God’s grace in His provision for them, and His purpose in
providing. They might not admit it, but they credit all that
they have with their own hard work, ingenious investments, or
astute savings:
You say in your heart,
‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ And you
shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who
gives you power to get wealth, that
He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this
day (Deuter-onomy 8:17,18).
As with the Israelites, He tests us with gain
and humbles us with loss so that we might see His hand undergirding
all that we have (Deuteronomy 8:16). Yet the omission by many
Christians to be thankful to our God for their income demonstrates their
lack of trust in Him for their provision. Remember, a major
purpose of our Lord for our lives is to establish His covenant in
us in such a way that unbelievers might see His grace toward us
as His own and seek Him themselves.
Keep in mind that our God gave Adam work
to do before his fall into sin. Work endues a person with purpose
and meaning, one of the seven needs God created in humanity.
(See our workbook, Demolishing
Strongholds, a free download, for
more on your seven needs.)
Work is not God’s curse on mankind! The Hebrew root
word for work and worship is the same, avodah. True worship of
God includes being grateful for employment, choosing to be
joyful in the work you do and realizing that your income is
actually His grace to you.
• Which do you love and which do you
hate: God or money? Give proof for your answer. Talk this over
with those who are close to you in the faith to see if they
agree with your response.
• Do you view your workplace as a
means our Lord has given you to provide for your material needs
as well as a venue in which you may represent Him to others?
Or, do you see your work only as a necessary task, devoid of
any witness by you for His Kingdom? Explain.
• If the Spirit of Christ dwells in
you, what is His perspective on your coworkers? In what specific
ways have you (or could have but didn’t) represented Him
in word and deed with them?
2. Greed exhibits your lack of concern for
the dignity and welfare of others who are less fortunate than
you.
“So in everything, do to others what
you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the
Prophets” (Matthew 7:
12).
The underlying intent of “the Law and the Prophets” is to extend to others the same dignity of
worth as you have in God’s sight (see Leviticus 19:18).
All humans are made in the image of God, and the precious blood
of Jesus was shed to redeem all who trust in Him.
One of Satan’s most powerful
strategies is to entice the Father’s children into greed
— the same overarching desire that propelled Eve into rebelling against
God’s command. The sin of
greed hinders Christians today from upholding the dignity of
other human beings and caring for their welfare. Looking to self-interest supercedes au-thentic self-sacrifice. Others get the surplus,
if anything.
In Matthew 25:34-40 our Lord Jesus sums up
His criteria for us to be welcomed at the Judgement Throne:
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for
one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for
Me.” Our Lord’s
concern for the less fortunate apperceives from the Older
Testament its clear commands to uphold the dignity and welfare
of others:
Speak up for
those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all
who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of
the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:
8,9)
During the seventh year let the land lie
unplowed and unused. Then the poor
among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the
same with your vineyard and your olive grove (Exodus 23:11).
When you reap the harvest of your land, do
not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the
gleanings of your harvest. Leave
them for the poor and the alien. I
am the LORD your God (Leviti-cus
23:22).
When times are tight we may rationalize
that God wants us to use our resources on ourselves. But Jesus
was forceful as He apperceived Deuteronomy 15:11, the command
to “open your hand wide to
your brother, to your poor and your
needy in your land.” How we respond to those in need tests both
our trust in our Lord as well as our character in our
willingness to support the dignity of those we help.
Many Christians think that the only reason
why God destroyed Sodom was the rampant sexual
perversion. How-ever, Ezekiel reveals another factor, one that
should warn us today of the dire consequences of greed: “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom:
She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:
49).
Ask yourself this: Isn’t the
forbearance of God incredible when you consider the
“arrogant, overfed unconcern” so graphically being
lived out now in this nation, as well as the ever-increasing
acceptance of sexual perversion? How many, in the name of
“tolerance”, have ignored the impact of these sins,
believing that God won’t intervene according to His holy
character and His Word?
Reaching out with help to others in way
that preserves their dignity is demonstrated in the parable of
the workers and the vineyard owner (Matthew 20:1-15). Motivated
by responsive love, the owner obediently followed the commands
of God in the Older Testament, paying all who worked for him a
day’s wage regardless of how long they worked. Providing
a day’s wage kept them from losing their dignity by
having to beg.
God’s wisdom and compassion also
shine through as the owner recognizes that each man’s
needs are similar even if the hours worked aren’t:
I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to
do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? (Matthew 20: 14,15).
A close link interlaces caring for someone
by upholding their dignity and sharing what you have with them
when they’re in need. In this parable Jesus was affirming
that people do have material needs for which they have to work
to provide if it’s possible. But there will also be those
who for one reason or another are unable to work.
For example, Paul cites the importance of
upholding the dignity and welfare of widows, and the righteous
responsibility of family members to come alongside with
tangible provision:
Honor widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or
grandchildren, let them learn first of all to fulfill their duty to their own household and so repay their forebears, for this
is acceptable before God (1 Timothy 5:3,4,
literal translation).
Because our Hebraic forefathers in the
faith clearly understood their identity as made in the image of
God, their concept of true charity was to provide the needy
with the conditions that would maintain
their dignity. Consider a Hebraic
example of charity that upholds dignity:
A young woman was left orphaned. The goal
of those who wanted to help her was to find her a suitable
husband when she reached the appropriate age. While her
immediate economic needs had to be met, of greater concern was
her need for the dignity and respect that marriage would bring
her.
How different from the current welfare
system that perpetuates and, in a sense, rewards dependency on
public assistance from one generation to the next! Charity that
offers no hope of change and no purpose and
meaning destroys the motivation of
those whom God would have provide for their families. Charity
at best solves the immediate need but does little to solve the
person’s need for dignity by becoming responsible through
learning a trade.
Sadly, many Christian organizations have
done a grave injustice by mirroring the ineffectual,
self-perpetuating welfare system that deals with economic need
without regard for the dignity of recipients. If the money that
perpetuates dependence is the total expression of involvement,
then dependence on handouts will continue from generation to
generation as an expected entitlement. The recipients will not
only sense no need to work; they’ll resent any prompting
to do so by those doling out the provision.
As obedience to God’s Word is
restored among His people, what chan-ges will take place in
their lives? Hebraic faith communities of the future will
concern themselves with the economic well-being and dignity of
the families as the early Church once did. Charity is not
God’s only way to help, particularly if dignity can be
gained through job training and life skills that help keep that
job.
Christian families can start cooperative
businesses so that those in need can become self-sufficient.
Christians working together isn’t new. When Paul went to
Corinth he worked with Aquila and Priscilla, tentmakers as he
was (Acts 18:2,3). Paul, Silas and Timothy also labored among
the Thessalonians, setting them an example to work for their
needs, and commanding that those who refused to work
shouldn’t get to eat either! (See 2 Thessalonians 3:
8-12.)
• The first need our God instilled in
humanity is the need for dignity. You can’t uphold the
dignity of others if you don’t have it yourself. Are you
influenced by strongholds or ruts of old behaviors and
attitudes that rob of you of dignity? Ask others close to you
for their input.
• If you give from your resources, do
you do it in a way that upholds that dignity of others? Or, is
it only a charitable act that makes you feel good?
• When you give, is it sacrificially
or from your surplus? How do you determine God’s will to
whom you give and how much?
“For it is time for judgment to
begin with the family of God; and if it it
begins with us, what will the
outcome be for those who
do not obey the gospel of God?”
(1 Peter 4:17).
Greed is especially offensive when the
object of your longing is sought to feed a sinful purpose.
Again, your motive is a key factor
when you’re wondering if greed is the issue behind your
pursuit — and motive is the
issue that our Lord weighs (Proverbs 16:2):
When you ask, you do not receive, be-cause you ask with wrong motives, that
you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship
with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the
world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:3,4).
When Jesus returns to take up His throne
as King of kings, He will bring to light every piece of
darkness you thought you had concealed in unrepentance. Those
whose motives were aligned with His Spirit within will receive
praise (1 Corinthians 4:5). Yet those whose mo-tives have been
driven by their sin nature have compromised their walk with
Him. Unless they repent, their spiritual
adultery will bring about the
strong injunction voiced by James, “Adulterers
and adulteresses!”
Do you think that those who call
themselves “Christian” yet live as an enemy of God through
their greedy pursuit will be welcomed into heaven? Really, does
their “friendship with the
world” and its goals and
desires instead reveal who their true “god” is? In
light of the righteousness commanded by God and empowered by
His Spirit in our pilgrimage to our salvation, what place do
those beset by the idols which the world pursues have in
God’s Kingdom? According to His Word, none:
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor
slanderers nor swindlers will inherit
the kingdom of God (1
Corin-thians 6:9,10).
For of this you can be sure: No immoral,
impure or greedy person —
such a man is an idolater —
has any inheritance in the kingdom
of Christ and of God (Ephesians 5:5).
When God makes sure that a message is
repeated, as here with Paul addressing two different faith
communities with the same warning, you know He wants us to
internalize it and take Him seriously!
We must never lose sight that we are
running a gauntlet of temptations until we depart this earth.
We may be tempted into a sin, but His Word declares the
righteous response: turn away from it, confess it before Him,
and receive His forgiveness and cleansing as He has promised (1
John 1:9).
But know this. We cannot claim to belong
to our Lord Jesus and go on entertaining unconfessed sin: “No one who is born of God will continue to sin,
because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot continue sinning,
because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9). The ancient gnostic lie that God’s commands for our lives are irrelevant because our spirit is secure
is widespread today. Forgiveness has been perverted into a
license to appease our flesh and excuse sin.
Notice God’s decisive parameter of
life for those who are “born of God”: “he cannot continue sinning.” And by the work of His Spirit, you don’t
have to! This calls for some honest self-evaluation. You may
have greed-based motives that you’ve never addressed, but
are deceived nevertheless into believing you’re okay with
God just as you are.
How do you deal with this?
• Consider from our Father’s
perspective that you indeed might be motivated by greed.
• Scrutinize your view of money,
possessions and the prestige they bring.
• Discuss this with others who know
you well, and make sure that the commands of God’s Word
are the foundation for the stand you take.
The Bible leaves no doubt that God
executes His judgments when people are bent on sinning. This
nation has collectively by greed brought His Name down among
the nations so that even Islam disdains the USA as “the
Great Satan”. Doesn’t it grieve your heart that our
Lord has become identified with a land in which blatant sin is
the norm, exported to other countries for profit?
Don’t look around for religious or
government leaders to lead the way to repentance. The Hebrew
Scriptures detail time and again the refusal of God’s
people to repent even when His judgments for sin are executed.
Even the pattern of disobedience that brings a season of relief
when they cry out ultimately finds stubborn rebellion taking
over again.
According to God’s unfailing Word,
the repeated hardening of human hearts will be the response
when God unleashes deserved punishment in the future:
The rest of mankind that were not killed
by these plagues still did not
repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and
wood — idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or
their thefts (Revelation 9:
20,21).
If you discover any vestiges of greed in
yourself, repent now. NOW is the time to free yourself from
greed’s tentacles and any of its ways of manifesting
itself. Allow the full fellowship of our Lord to strengthen and
encourage you to be about His purposes in loving obedience.
If you choose instead to harbor the greed
that the world is captive to, you will be swept up in the riots
when famine comes during the Dark Days of Chastise-ment. Do you
have financial tensions? If you are yearning for something outside God’s will for you, you may give way to rage in ways you never
thought possible:
You want
something but don’t get it.
You murder and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight.
Yet you do not have, because you do not ask God (James 4:2).
Be a Follower of Jesus
Who Has Ears to Hear
“If My people, who are called by My
Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn
from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will
forgive their sin and will heal their land”
(2 Chronicles 7:14).
Did you know that our merciful God would
have saved Sodom if He could have found ten righteous people
(Gene-sis 18:32)? As we mentioned earlier, the sins God held
against Sodom were sexual perversion and lack of concern for
the poor. If He had found just ten
righteous people there, the city
would not have been destroyed. Jeremiah tells us that our God
would have pardoned Jerusalem from destruction if He could have
found only one just and truthful person (5:1).
How many righteous people do you think He
can find in the United States, your state, your city or town,
your faith community or family? Christian pollster George Barna
has found that the morals of professed Christians are no
different than those of unbelievers. You’d probably find
this to be especially true in the areas of sexual impurity and
greed. Despite its veneer of spirituality, this nation is no
more moral than Sodom.
• A question for you, your family,
and faith community to answer: “Does our God consider
your life to be righteous or unrighteous?” If any of you
are unrighteous in any areas of your lives, what are you going
to do about it?
Years ago we were finishing up our time in
Israel, having received the Hebraic foundations from our
Father. We traveled to a small, rustic retreat center near
Latrun, a few miles outside Jeru-salem. About 4 AM on our final
morning there I, Mike, climbed up to the simple, rock-hewn
chapel to cry out to God about why He had chosen me to share
the Hebraic foundations. I poured my heart out, reminding Him
of how much I’d failed Him in my life.
Suddenly, His Spirit directed me to a
little devotional on a nearby stool. I opened it to the lesson
for that day: “Then I heard
the voice of the Lord saying,‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?’
And I said, ‘Here am I. Send
me!’” (Isaiah 6:8). Sobbing, I whispered, “You
do this to everyone you recruit!”
Only the grace of our King can open blind
eyes that are focused on inner guilt and widen them to see His
forgiving love and purpose for His selection. A repentant heart
makes all the difference to our Lord!
This is our encouragement to you: repent
if you’ve given way to greed in any way. If you
don’t, you’ll only harden your heart as our Father
continues to increase His chastisement of this nation.
We’re very aware that we were sent
back to the United States with a very unpopular message. Isaiah
was warned that people would resist God’s truth, yet he
was to deliver the messages anyway:
Make the heart
of this people calloused; make
their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear
with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed (Isaiah 6:10).
This dire warning is apperceived by Jesus
in Matthew 13:14,15. As He so often summed up His parables, “if you have ears to hear, then hear!” This repeated phrase is an imperative, a
command, a non-optional directive that means to listen intently,
then take action according to the will of our Father!
Our nation’s disobedience is no
different than that of the Israelites when God sent His
prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel to convict them of their
sin. We highly recommend that you review these books. Our
God’s character hasn’t changed, nor does His loving
mercy nullify His righteous justice and holiness. Don’t
neglect His “love letter” to us — His Word
— which clearly details the relationship He wants with
those He has called out of the world system: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
In Acts 28:23-27 Paul used the Older Testament to
convince his listeners about Jesus and the Kingdom: “He explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and
tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of
Moses and from the Prophets.” (If you’ve read our Hebraic Article, The Gospel of the Covenant is the Pilgrimage to
Salvation, you’ll recognize
that the true gospel is found in the Older Testament. Paul
verifies this here.)
However, only some were convinced by what
Paul shared. Then the apostle laid down God’s indictment
against the rest:
The Holy
Spirit spoke the truth to your
forefathers when He said through Isaiah the prophet: ‘Go
to this people and say, “You
will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever
seeing but never perceiving.”
For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly
hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal
them’ (Acts 28:25-27).
Please, don’t let this accusation be
leveled against you. If you’re not experiencing the power
of the Holy Spirit working in and through you, and if you
don’t have recurring testimonies of God at work both
through you and around you, then find out what you need to
repent of and do it! Please, heed the warning of this Lifebyte
concerning greed in particular so that you may repent and be
available for our Lord to use you as He will.
A righteous nation that turns to God in
repentance and cries out to Him finds the favor that He
promised Israel if they would live uprightly as His agents of
truth:
For the LORD your God will bless you as He has
promised, and you will lend to many
nations but will borrow from none.
You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you (Deuter-onomy 15:6).
Righteousness exalts
a nation, but sin is a disgrace to
any people (Proverbs 14:34).
The United States is the biggest debtor
nation in the world. Not only have we accumulated vast debt to
other nations, but we have condemned our yet unborn children to
pay back the debt borne from our greed. While many still have
vain confidence in our military might, even that will not save
us from the famine and disease that will destroy countless
thousands as God brings forth His judgment on this nation (see
Ezekiel 5:16,17).
TODAY is the time for you and your family
to be counted among the righteous. TODAY is the time to trust
God and to be actively involved in caring for the dignity and
welfare of others. In your pilgrimage toward your salvation
remember Paul’s exhortation:
“Not that I have already obtained
all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to
take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have
taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal
to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:
12-14).
If you’d like to be inspired by the
true story of a humble farmer God changed and empowered to
uplift the welfare and dignity of others through Jesus, we
recommend the movie, Faith Like
Potatoes. (It may be available at
your library for free.) After you watch it, you’ll want
to see the Special Feature where you learn more about how God
is currently using Angus Buchan, the farmer. May his
life’s motivation be yours for the praise of our Lord
Jesus!
