Are you worn out?
Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 5 of “Fan or Follower – Invest Wisely” (LISTEN HERE).
Proverbs 23:4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
The wisdom of the Proverbs is worth pausing to consider and taking time to implement. These short statements of wisdom speak in plain simple language, but force us to go beyond the surface to the depths of our heart.
Our minds tell us that riches are temporary.
We have all had some experience where money we worked hard for “flew off” and we never really benefited from it, or at least were able to spend it on what we thought we wanted to.
Money we saved got spent on doctors’ bills after an expected illness.
A natural disaster leads to large repair bills.
Increase in inflation makes our dollars worth less and able to buy less.
Stock market decreases leave our retirement funds less valuable.
Certainly in all of these situations having money is helpful, but our logic agrees with the proverb that recognizes the material things in our life are temporary and can fly away.
So why do we wear ourselves out to get them?
I know the proverb says, “DO NOT wear yourself out to get rich,” but when the clear implication of why this statement is necessary is because WE DO wear ourselves out to get rich! If this never happened, the Spirit of God wouldn’t have to record the direction to not do it!
What does money mean for you?
This question is worth some reflection time. It is intended to get to our heart and understand the motivation behind the desire and drive to accumulate wealth. (Again, wealth is not wrong or sinful, but checking our heart will prevent wealth from becoming a spiritual detriment.)
Here’s some possible answers:
Wealth is a sign of status. What is driving the accumulation of wealth is my sense of worth and significance.
Wealth is a base for security. What is driving the accumulation of wealth is to have a security that I can address needs and situations in life without worrying about them.
Wealth provides stability. What drives the accumulation of wealth is to have certainty to buy my way through life with confidence I can provide for what I need.
Wealth provides safety. If I have money I can use it to secure the well-being of myself and family.
Again, each of these has truth to them and isn’t always bad motivators.
The challenge is Satan loves to move our heart from using money as a practical tool in life to provide for the present and plan for the future, to the element on which I base my TRUST for status, security, stability, and safety in life. When my trust turns from God to provide these things to earthly wealth, my heart has been captivated to believe the lie and now the material things have become god for me instead of a blessing from God.
So the wisdom of God in the Proverbs reorients our heart to encourage us to place our trust for all things of life in the Lord who provides status, stability, security and safety.
The things of this world will fly away…the things of the Lord will last forever!
Invest your time in HIM!
Apply: What motivation to accumulate wealth does Satan love to deceive you with?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the blessings of wealth. May my heart never be captivated by them and my life driven to accumulate them. May my heart always be focused on you and the wealth you give me used to honor you! AMEN.
What do you treasure?
Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 5 of “Fan or Follower – Invest Wisely” (LISTEN HERE).
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
The Lord loves to talk about wealth and material things. In fact, he is the greatest owner of wealth in the world…the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.
So wealth and material things aren’t bad, wrong or sinful. The Lord would not engage in such things.
However, all the good things which the Lord has created and allows us to partake in can be a threat to the heart of every individual, including yours and mine.
So he takes time out of love to guide our heart and our relationship with possessions so we invest our time, energy and effort wisely.
Treasure has a one-to-one correlation with our heart.
Our heart has a one-to-one correlation with our treasure.
What do I mean?
Simply what Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Do you find this verse seemingly backwards? Didn’t Jesus mean to say, “Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also”?
Nope.
Jesus knows that what is most important, what we spend our time on, what we invest in, will be the path our heart follows. What we treasure, we love.
So where is your treasure?
A short answer would be, “Of course, my treasure is with the Lord!”
I would say the same thing, until I consider Jesus’ words to the rich ruler in Mark 10:21:
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
There is a word I have always missed in this encounter, “Jesus looked at him and LOVED him.” What Jesus says to strike his heart is because Jesus LOVED him enough to point out what was threatening enjoying the greater riches of heaven.
Jesus LOVES us enough to do the same.
He loves us enough to ask, “Where is your treasure?”
What if you were in hurricane Ian and lost everything of earthly wealth? (Maybe you as a reader experienced that).
Look around your home and/or business. Could you sell it all and give it away? (Wow…tough!)
Does material wealth represent a level of safety, security, or stability? (Am I trusting wealth for something I should be trusting God?)
Jesus LOVES us enough to get us to contemplate where our treasure is. He’s not just “talking about money again.” He is working on our heart to reorient us to the treasure that is lasting and eternal…heavenly treasures. He wants us to enjoy the created things he has given to us, but he doesn’t want what he intends to be a blessing to be a curse to us following him and spending eternity with him.
So he calls our hearts away from earthly treasures to himself…because he LOVES us!
Apply: Consider the question, “Where is my treasure?” Let God reveal what is being valued more than our relationship with him.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for LOVING us enough to challenge the loyalty of our hearts. Forgive us for treasuring the temporal over the eternal. Reorient our hearts to the heavenly treasures that are eternal and everlasting. AMEN.
What do I do with injustice?
Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 4 of “Fan or Follower – Deal with Division” (LISTEN HERE).
What do I do with injustice?
Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
As the Lord is so intent on doing, he is working to remove from our heart emotions of revenge, envy and hatred for those that wrong us. Yet by removing these emotions and replacing them with love for our enemies and encouraging us to show kindness to those that want to harm us, there still lingers a question about resolving an injustice that comes our way.
Can a Christian seek recourse when they are wronged?
Seeking recourse is different than seeking revenge. Revenge is driven by anger to make the person hurt. Recourse is driven by justice to seek what is a fair retribution for the wrong incurred.
For example, if one is injured in a car accident by a drunk driver, one might seek a settlement that cares for the injury for the life of the person. While we are encouraged to forgive the driver, that doesn’t inherently mean they have a jail sentence or their license to drive revoked.
Our judicial system is a legitimate avenue to bring a fair retribution for harm incurred.
But the Lord checks our heart as we proceed or if we proceed. We pray for the person who wronged us. While we can seek justice, we seek the desired change and pathway to change that will keep that person from harming others in a similar way.
These situations are probably more rare in our daily interactions. It’s the little wrongs that irritate us, lead us to lash out, and in small ways seek revenge.
It’s these situations that this teaching of Jesus encourages us to work to repair relationships that are broken or strained.
The Apostle Paul encourages a similar approach:
Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends,
It may not always be possible, but we give it our best effort to repair relationships that are broken and live at peace with everyone. Revenge is not an option. Repair is.
However, there may be situations in your life where it seems like the one who harmed you just gets away scott free. The temptation is to do what you feel the judicial system didn’t, or to make the person pay when it seems like no one cares.
This is a real temptation…yet, one to fight against. Revenge is not ours to engage in.
So what’s the solution?
Romans 12:19b “…but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
Finally anyone who wrongs us or others will have to face the Lord. If there is vengeance to be meted out, the Lord, in his perfect justice will. He knows the situation and he knows the heart. He will avenge or repay, if it is needed.
So we can release the situation to the Lord and trust he will carry out what is just and fair. In releasing the situation to the Lord, we also release our heart from seeking revenge.
So as a follower of Jesus, we will work to repair relationships and let God deal with revenge.
Apply: Is there a situation from your past or present where thoughts of revenge still linger? Turn the situation over to the Lord and let your heart be at peace and know God is perfectly just and will deal with revenge.
Prayer: Lord thank you for your perfect justice and grace and the promise that you will apply both perfectly. AMEN.
Tough Love…
Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 4 of “Fan or Follower – Deal with Division” (LISTEN HERE).
Tough love.
I’m not talking about doing something for a person that will really help even when that person doesn’t want it. I’m talking about loving someone who hates you and in the moment stands in opposition to you.
It’s tough to love.
Jesus challenges our paradigm and our actions when it comes to our enemies:
Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
What helps us meet this challenge is to reflect on both the love the Father has shown to us, and the love he shows to others. Read Romans 5:6-10 slowly.
Romans 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Did you catch our status when God loved us?
Ungodly.
Sinner.
Enemy.
Let me guess. If someone said, “Mike, I have someone here who is ungodly, a sinner, AND your enemy. I’d like you to spend your day with him showing him around town and buying him dinner and anything he wants.”
What would you do?
Love an ungodly sinner who is my enemy?
Tough love.
Yet, that is the very love that God showed to us in Christ. While we were ungodly, enemy sinners, Christ died for us. Christ lived his life for us. Christ showed his love for us.
This is how we are to love ungodly, enemy sinners in our lives.
Tough love.
But that’s why God loved us first. So in turn we could love others.
Apply: Who fits the description as an ungodly, enemy sinner in your life? What is one small act of love or kindness you might show to them?
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for loving me when I was your enemy. Empower me to show this same type of love to those I perceive as my enemies. AMEN.
Release the Rage!
Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 4 of “Fan or Follower – Deal with Division” (LISTEN HERE).
When is the last time that a problem has been solved through rage and revenge?
The last time you had an argument/fight in your marriage…did rage solve it?
The last time an individual expressed rage against a political policy or figure, did the issue resolve?
The last time someone cut you off in traffic and you reacted in rage…did it make the other person or you a better driver?
The Proverbs say this, (Proverbs 29:11) Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.
Here’s a story I mentioned in the message yesterday of Bud Welch (his daughter was killed in the Alfred Murrah Federal Building Bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995. She was 23, not 3 as I mentioned in the sermon …sorry for the mistake!)
Bud Welch fought his rage and desire for retribution when his daughter Julie was killed along with 167 other people in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Welch had opposed the death penalty before his daughter was killed, but he reversed his stance as he tried to cope with his loss in the weeks following the bombing.
“People used to tell me, particularly when Julie hit her teenage years, that ‘Bud, you’d change your mind [about the death penalty] if your daughter was murdered,’ ” Welch said. “After the bombing, I was so full of revenge and retribution, I didn’t even want a trial for [Oklahoma City bombers] McVeigh and [Terry] Nichols. I thought the federal government and prosecutors were useless and I just wanted them fried.”
Welch, who owned a service station in Oklahoma City at the time, said he was so grief-stricken and had such a hard time dealing with his loss that he would go home and drink to try to get himself to fall asleep. His drinking gradually increased.
One day, about 10 months after Julie’s death, Welch went to the bomb site — which he routinely visited because that was the last place where his daughter was alive — and began to examine himself and search for a way to get past his grief. He found that he was being consumed that the same rage and thirst of revenge that had driven McVeigh and Nichols to blow up the Murrah Federal Building and kill his daughter.
“I finally asked myself three questions: Do I need to have a trial right away? Do I need to have a conviction? Do I need to have McVeigh and Nichols executed?” Welch said. “I came to the conclusion that none of those things needed to be part of the healing process I had to go through to get past this and stop the alcohol abuse and stop smoking three packs of cigarettes a day.
“It was hate and retribution that drove McVeigh and Nichols. They were getting revenge for what happened in Waco, Texas, exactly two years earlier on April 19, 1993″ — when U.S. government agents began storming the Branch Davidian compound, and the sect’s stronghold went up in flames.
“It was out of rage and retribution that Julie and so many fine people are dead today,” Welch said. “After I began to realize what drove McVeigh and Nichols, I realized that I didn’t want to let my rage and revenge get out of control like it did with them.”
Bud Welch was able to release his rage and bring calm through wisdom given to him. It is just one practical example of why the Lord encourages us as we follow him to release our rage. The Apostle Paul writes, Ephesians 4:31-32, Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Again our example and forgiveness is in Christ. He released his rage against us and the world and chose instead to love and forgive.
Challenging? Absolutely! Yet our soul is blessed with calm, forgiveness and peace when the Spirit enables us to release our rage.
Apply: Is there a situation past or present that still causes rage in your heart? What might happen as the Spirit releases you from that rage and replaces it with compassion and forgiveness?
Prayer: Lord forgive me when my heart is filled with rage. Replace my rage with your compassion, love and forgiveness. AMEN.