True Riches

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 11 November 2012

Hi all,

Attached herewith, please find a copy of my latest Daily Light Meditation in rhyme and metre.

Today’s meditation is intentionally a bit controversial. What exactly is meant by prosperity? For many it means a healthy bank account and the ability to enjoy a good life. Today we confront this head on! My proposal is that true prosperity is enjoying a right relationship with Jesus Christ in spite of poverty or riches. Nothing else is more important. It has always been this way and will continue until Jesus returns. Knowing Jesus as your personal Saviour brings a prosperity that money can’t buy.

Comments, and previous Devotionals can be found on my Blog – http: //jimnphyllida.blogspot.com

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Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 11 November 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	TRUE RICHES
For many people, our churches focus on money rather than on the Kingdom of God. There is a certain amount of justification in this statement but it’s a bit like throwing the baby out with the bath-water. What’s more, I understand that Jesus devoted a considerable amount of time teaching about money. Jesus was not against it per se’. He was against money having you. Many years ago, Bob Mumford said, “I’ve known being rich. I’ve known being poor. Rich is better. One of Jesus’ best known statements was: 24 "No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money. Matthew 6:24 ESV In spite of this our churches appear to be obsessed with the pursuit of money. The “prosperity gospel” has had an unfortunate effect on many. In the pursuit of wealth, people have lost everything they possessed. The root problem was the prosperity gospel insisted that God wanted everyone to have lots of money. It’s a wonderful teaching. Many Christians have followed those principlss and become wealthy. Not the great majority. They remain as impoverished as they were. What is particularly sad is that many of these disillusioned Christians have left the church. Many are sitting at home licking their wounds and deeply regretting what they had done to themselves and their family. Most of them don’t blame God. They blame those who persuaded them to get into the message. To put it into practice without first making certain with Jesus that it was something they should do themselves. The real problem is establishing God’s will for them individually. People say quite correctly that God’s will is His Word. For you and me, the question is which words in His Word? We always assume we will enjoy being in His will. But that’s not always true. God’s will for Joseph was to be taken and sold as a slave in Egypt. For the best part of 400 years, God’s will for His people was for them to be the slaves of the Egyptians. God intended that it would not be forever. But how many children of Israel during that time knew nothing other than slavery? That was certainly not prosperity. God’s will for hundreds of thousands of Christians was to die during the persecution at the hands of the Romans. Much the same has happened all down the centuries. Death for being faithful to Jesus. Death in most cases in a cruel and horrendous way at the hands of torturers well trained in their evil trade. Not exactly prosperity. The accusation from the people in the faith movement today is these things happened because those men, women and children didn’t have faith! “Foxes book of Martyrs” shows that this is not true. These folk died because of their faith. Nothing could turn them away from Jesus. All some of them had to say was, “Caesar is Lord”. Then they could have walked away free. Their faith in Jesus was such that torture and death was better than denying Jesus! That’s the sort of faith I admire. Not the sort that is influenced by the size of your bank account. Off the coast of South America there was an island owned by a rich man. He hated Christianity and vowed no Christian would ever live there. His slaves had never heard of Jesus. Because of their love for Jesus, two young Dutchmen sold themselves as slaves to this rich man. They went to the island having bid farewell to all they had ever known. All this for the love of Jesus! Prosperity? Yes indeed! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 ESV 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 ESV 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27 ESV 8 She was given a bridal gown of bright and shining linen. The linen is the righteousness of the saints. Revelation 19:8 MSG 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 NLT 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one--for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself. Romans 8:33 NLT A Maskil of David. 1 Blessed is the one whose lawless acts are forgiven. His sins have been taken away. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD never counts against him. He doesn't want to cheat anyone. Psalms 32:1-2 NIrV	There was a time when all of us were, not what we are now. When we would worship anything. We loved the golden cow. Whose udders gave us money, dispensed upon a plate, Along with gross dishonesty, debauchery and hate! I didn’t love my brother, if he had more than me. And we’d “max out” our credit card, on every shopping spree. Our debts were indescribable. How could they be repaid? The postman was avoided, because we were afraid, We would get a letter, a final, last demand. Advising, if we didn’t pay, the sheriff would command, The bailiffs, “take your furniture to pay that which was owed”. We were only reaping the crop which we had sowed. Then we came to Jesus. We knelt down and we cried. Confessed all our stupidity; our sins we did not hide. He took us in His loving arms and said, “I’m glad we met. Now I’m going to teach you how to pay off all your debt. Throw away your credit cards. Cut them all in two. They are too convenient for spend-thrifts such as you. You must start to budget and from this very day. I will make suggestions, whereby you can repay, Every cent you’re owing. You’ll find, ‘blood sweat and tears’ Will keep your budget balanced; and in a few short years, You’ll find all your creditors at last are fully paid. Be strong; be of good courage; and do not be afraid. First you must start walking in transparency and light. Doing what I show you, to help you put things right. Always please remember, for you, debt is a sin. You will have to pay it off, if you are going to win. The whip of every creditor could beat you black and blue. You’ll be sequestrated and no one will trust you. Go and tell your creditors that they will be repaid. But the last instalment is going to be delayed. They’ll be understanding, when they begin to see, You’re working on “debt-mountain” and looking to be free. Child, I want to help you. But I won’t wave a wand. So My first instruction is consolidate your bond. Sell your big Mercedes and get a smaller car. Petrol is expensive and you’ll get just as far. In a smaller vehicle. Don’t go out for meals. I will give you good Ideas for doing business deals. Discipline is needed. And I will show you how, To break the evil monster, that horrible cash cow. Do you want to do it? My child it’s up to you. This is just the starting point of what you need to do”. Jim Strickland – Written 11th November 2012