“God or Money” 2/19/2014

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Godsmanforever
“Our Daily Bread”     http://odb.org/
The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                 
http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht   
“Homily Grits Devotional”   http://www.homilygrits.com 
 
Obadiah 1:4…  Though you ascend as high as the eagle, And though you set your nestamong the stars, FromthereI will bring you down,” says the Lord.  (NKJV)
 
The opening scripture is taken from the smallest Book in the Old Testament…the Book of Obadiah… The Lord had spoken to the obscure prophet Obadiah in a vision, where Obadiah was to warn the Edomites that there would be a judgment against them by God…  The capital city of Edom was Petra, located high in the mountains…and was surrounded by deep gorges and peaks of over 5,000 ft…  The fact that this city was virtually inaccessible by its enemies, because of its natural fortress location, gave the Edomites a proud, false sense of security that they couldn’t be touched by their enemies…
 
As I was reading this small Book in my Q/T the other morning, I could visualize how easily any of us could pridefully build up a false sense of security from amassing an overabundance of possessions…  As we grow older in life…especially if we are blessed by God with a good paying job…a nice house…a loving wife and family…and a stockpile of money in a retirement account…we could easily fall into one of Satan’s most effective lies, that we no longer need God at the forefront of our lives…  Some don’t believe they need God at all, or worse…that there is no God…
 
Today I write for anyone who does not believe that God exists…or for anyone who calls themselves a Christian, but has placed their job, their family, their friends, their personal pleasures, or anything else in their lives, ahead of their love for the Lord…  
 
Jesus makes it clear in His “Sermon on the Mount” teaching…that no one can serve God and mammon (money, wealth, or possessions… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammon )…  Jesus tells us this, in…Matthew 6:24…  “Noone can servetwomasters; for eitherhe will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. Youcannot serve God and mammon.”  (NKJV)
 
Jesus goes on a little further, and gives us what must  be our priority in this short lifetime, in order to assure God’s promised provisions of food and clothing now…and more importantly, the promise of eternal life with God the Father in heaven, when we pass on from this life…
 
Matthew 6:33… “But seekfirst the kingdom of God and Hisrighteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  (NKJV)
 
To “seek first the kingdom of God and Hisrighteousness”, the unredeemed sinner must hear the Gospel call (or the general call)…where the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is presented through the Word, or by a servant of The Lord…where the “good news” gospel of Christ is shared by Christians to those around them who are in need of hearing the truth of God’s Word, that will set them free from Satan’s bonds of sin and shame…John 8:32…
 
This message of the cross will be foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18), unless they are first drawn in by God…John 6:44…  But once the seeds toward salvation are planted…and by the work of the Holy Spirit the sinner truly understands that they can in no way save themselves, they must first turn from their sinful way of life…repent of their sins…and seek Jesus Christ with all of their heart, their mind, and their soul…
 
Friends, make no mistake about the fact that receiving God’s grace through saving faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ is totally God’s work…Ephesians 2:1-9…   God uses His Word to open the eyes of the lost…  (See P.S. at the end for more on God’s grace)
 
But once the Christian has been graced by God with salvation…they must either choose to serve the Lord and be blessed with the rewards God promises to those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)…or fall prey to living in sin, if they are drawn away from Holy Spirit’s control by their own selfish desires…  
 
I spent a day writing about this choice of free will to live for the Lord…or choosing to live in sin and the consequences of the missed opportunities and unopened doors that will result when making decisions without first seeking advice from God…  It was titled…“Choose Sin or God’s Help”…and can be found by typing 2/07/2014 into the search window @ www.Godsmanforever.com
 
For the Christian who God does bless abundantly…God wants us to use our abundance to help others…2 Corinthians 9:8… And God is able to makeallgraceabound toward you, that you, alwayshavingallsufficiency in allthings, mayhave an abundance for every good work.  (NKJV)
 
But when we take our abundance and selfishly squander it on ourselves, instead of helping others…our greed becomes a sin that can easily lead us astray…  The apostle Paul pens this, in…1 Timothy 6:10… For the love of money is a root of allkinds of evil, for whichsome have strayed from the faith in theirgreediness, and pierced themselves through with manysorrows.  (NKJV)
 
Heavenly Father, help each of Your redeemed children to be good stewards of the time, the resources, and the spiritual gifts they have been given by You, in order to bring honor and glory to Your name…  I pray for this fullness of Christ and the abundant life You promise Your redeemed children, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
 
Blessings in Christ,  bruce r mills
 
P.S. Here is a link for this most important days writing, about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes; through understanding and obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, after first being drawn in by God…John 6:44…   https://godsmanforever.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/gods-group-thoughts-for-7112013-the-truth-about-sin/
 
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About Godsmanforever

I present posts about God's Word, with a personal focus on how God's grace is received through saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ... Sinners must understand and obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ... See this link for more... https://godsmanforever.com/2014/10/26/the-truth-about-sin-10262014-by-bruce-reposted-from-7112013/
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