Money


This morning God has me thinking about money.  And, as I am thinking, I am recalling a few different stories.  

The first one is about Sampson and Delilah.  This couple, whom you can read about in the book of Judges, lived about 1,000 years before Jesus.  Sampson was strong and powerful and before he was even born God told his mother that Sampson would take the lead in delivering Israel from the Philistines.  He told her the boy was to be a Nazirite and that a razor should never touch his head, for that was the source of his strength.

As Sampson grew he became a strong leader and made many moves against the Philistines.  But when he was older he fell in love with a woman named Delilah.  The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into show him the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him.  Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver." (Judges 16:5)

Delilah turned against her husband for money.

Next, there is the story of Judas.  Judas was one of Jesus' disciples and for three years he traveled with Jesus watching the miracles, and hearing His teachings.  But one day Judas went to the chief priests and asked, "'What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him over to you?'  So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.  From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Him over." (Matthew 26:14-16)

Judas betrayed Jesus for money.

Finally, there is a story in Luke where Jesus and his disciples are at the synagogue and he looks up to see the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.  He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.  He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all the others.  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)

The widow valued God above money.

1 Timothy 6:10 tells us, "the love of money is the root of all evil."

It is not bad to have money.  In fact, our blessings are from God so if we are wealthy it is because He has granted us the provision for wealth.  However, if we place money high on our priority list, and our ability to GET money higher than HIS ability to provide it, then we are in the wrong.

We must remember that just as quickly as God granted our wealth He could remove it.  And similarly, if we - like the poor widow, are relying on Him for our provision, He will recognize our actions.

Do not love money more than God.  Do not love it more than others.  If He has blessed you with it, use it for His glory.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Petition for Prayers

Image
Hi there - today is my 400th post and I am wrestling a bit... so I'm asking for your prayers. I started this blog o ver a year ago, convinced it was something God wanted me to do.  It was way out of my comfort zone, and certainly not something I’d have done 10 years before, but  I had hoped that i n some way, it might help people get closer to Him. I knew that once I had finally given my life to God, EVERYTHING in my life changed, and  I desperately wanted people to experience the same JOY and PEACE I have felt since making that decision.   As they say, “I was like a poor beggar telling others where they could find food”. For months, the posts flowed easily and I would feel the Holy Spirit's inspiration…the words on the page practically writing themselves.  However, I'm not sure that is still the case.  Sometimes I feel as if I am struggling to hear His voice, and I honestly don't want to be writing MY thoughts - I want to be sharing HIS. So, I'm going to t...
Read more

The Journey to the Cross (Day 4 - THE LADDER)

Image
In the city of Jerusalem stands a church called  The Church of the Holy Sepulcher.   It has been proposed as the place of both the death and resurrection of Jesus, and it has been a place for pilgrimages since the 4th century. Considered holy, the site is cared for by no less than six denominations including Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic, Coptic, Ethiopian and Syriac Orthodox.  As such, it has been carefully parsed out into sections.  And sadly, arguments and violent clashes are not uncommon. Jim visited the church once on a trip with Northridge and told me about "The Immovable Ladder".  Apparently the ladder is a " bizzare outcome of religious stubbornness pushed to extremes. " For " Sometime in the first half of the 18th century, someone placed a ladder up against the wall of the church. No one is sure who he was, or more importantly, to which sect he belonged.  The ladder remains there to this day.  No one dares touch it, l...
Read more

The Journey to the Cross (Day 3 - ONLY JESUS)

Image
Today’s Holy Week post has me thinking about the 12 disciples. ONLY JESUS Can you name Jesus' 12 disciples?  If you've been watching The Chosen or reading your Bible regularly, you might be able to.  However - there are some, who - at least for me, are a bit in the shadows. Sure I know Simon/Peter, and his brother Andrew .  And then there was James and John, the sons of Thunder (or Zebedee to be exact).  There was Matthew, and Thomas, and Judas Iscariot.  And there was Simon the Zealot, and another James...but...but...a nd here is where my mind isn't as good at remembering.   So I Googled it. There was also Philip - a Jewish man from Bethsaida who apparently was the one to tell Nathaniel (another lesser known disciple) that "The One" Moses and the prophets had foretold in the Old Testament, was here.  Following Jesus' death Philip became a missionary in Greece and for his outspoken faith proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God - Philip was stoned and...
Read more