STATUS QUO

Time with Jesus - Friday, 29 March 2013

Hi all,

Passover Plate

If I mention ABBA, people of my generation will immediately smile and think of the big hits this music group made in the past. One of them, “Money, Money, Money” is well remembered. Some of the lyrics are quoted below:-

Money, money, money / Must be funny / In the rich man's world - Money, money, money / Always sunny / In the rich man's world. - Aha-ahaaa / All the things I could do / If I had a little money / It's a rich man's world.

I loved the song. The theology of the song is decidedly questionable; in fact decidedly unchristian. Jesus made a comment about money that is still discussed at length by Christians. ¹³ "No servant can serve two masters at the same time. He will hate one of them and love the other. Or he will be faithful to one and dislike the other. You can't serve God and Money at the same time." Luke 16:13 NIrV

Jim & Phyllida

The problem is how to live in this world without money. Credit/Debit cards are not the answer. Frankly you cannot do it. Money is our way of bargaining for goods and services. It was hardly any different 2000 years ago. Jesus was adequately provided for. But men and women provided for His day to day needs. Much the same was true for His disciples. Even Paul was compelled at times to “make tents” to finance himself.

Carry yhr Cross

So what was Jesus’ problem with men and money? Perhaps the best way to put it is to say He was not against people having money. He was against money having people. When you have money, you are “in charge” of your wealth. When money has you, the result is greed. Greed is not congruent with Godliness. Greed focuses on self. Godliness focuses on others. It’s impossible for them to mix.

Today’s meditation goes into this in more detail.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland 

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Friday, 29 March 2013			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	Status Quo
Three thousand years ago, David was Israel’s King. Our Jewish brothers and sisters see it as Israel’s finest hour. We Christians know better. Even so, as we look back three thousand years we have some sympathy for their view. Have a look at the life of King David. You’ll find that we are not much different from the people of those days. They may not have our technical advantages, but they still managed to be devious. They had their thieves and murderers just as we do. The status quo has not changed in 3000 years! Not really. It looks different because of progress. Well, we call it progress. Is it progress or is everything still served up the same way just tailored to 21st century conditions? About one thousand years after David, Jesus came along with His extraordinary recommendations. Recommendations that are as effective today as they were back then. “Don’t store up treasure on earth.” Store up treasure in heaven where there are no thieves and moths don’t devour”. The past several years have shown in a very significant way, the danger of storing up “wealth” on this planet. Just about every country in the 1st world has gone through a terrible financial crisis. A dear friend in USA has lost everything. House, car, job and security. She is not alone. Many of those who have been part of the sub-prime financial loan system have been in serious trouble. Countries have been looking for a financial “bail-out”. In the past 24 hours, the people of Cypress have been faced with the possibility of losing their money in the banks. In the 1970’s a book was written called, “The Day the Dollar Dies”. The book warned God’s people about the danger of being in debt. “The Golden Cow” by John White written in the 1980’s says much the same. The church has gone through a period when “extreme prosperity” was preached. It wasn’t true. Many Christians have lost everything. For us today, the question is how to go about Jesus’ sound recommendations. It’s time to begin investing everything in heaven. But where are the deposit slips? What is the name of the bank? What is the bank code and what is your account number? Good questions! The answer is easy. I’m told that the bank code is 777777 but this may be a rumour. Deposit slips are readily available. You get them by PRAYER and they are instantly available on line. Ask for them and you will receive. Heaven’s bank does not use account numbers. They use names rather than numbers. The name of the Bank is “Jesus Christ Unlimited” and is accessible by FAITH 24/7 Jim & Phyllida Strickland			24 For riches don't last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation. Proverbs 27:24 NLT 6 We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. Psalm 39:6 NLT 2 Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ--that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. Col 3:2 MSG 19 "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Mat 6:19-21 NLT 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 1 Cor. 9:25-26 NLT 18 We don't look for things that can be seen but for things that can't be seen. Things that can be seen are only temporary. But things that can't be seen last forever. 2 Cor. 4:18 GW 18 A wicked person earns dishonest wages, but whoever spreads righteousness earns honest pay. Proverbs 11:18 GW 8 Now there is a crown waiting for me. It is given to those who are right with God. The Lord, who judges fairly, will give it to me on the day he returns. He will not give it only to me. He will also give it to all those who are longing for him to return. 2 Tim 4:8 NIrV 4 The Chief Shepherd will come again. Then you will receive the crown of glory. It is a crown that will never fade away. 1 Peter 5:4 NIrV	Things have not changed very much for some three thousand years. The problems which they had back then still bring the self-same tears. The rich are getting richer; the poor are just as poor. Men are still enchanted by a woman’s sweet allure. What perhaps is different is the timing and the date. The thieves continue thieving and have the same old fate. The people are as devious as they have always been. The boys and girls experiment where they cannot be seen. We all have our ambitions. We want to reach the top. Anything to get there, as long as it won’t stop. Our vision is still limited. Our every thought is “me”. It seems that our sin nature is as bad as it can be. The time we are allotted is three score years and ten. Eighty if we’re strong enough and what will happen then? It doesn’t seem to matter. The days are rushing by. And all of our accomplishments are gone the day we die. Riches are uncertain. We know they cannot last. And still we think we’ve got the time to have our final blast! But all of the possessions which we accumulate, Are passed on to the children that we’ve had with our mate. We’re nothing more than shadows, rushing to our end; Heaping up our wealth but never certain who will spend, The money that has come to us by working night and day. If only we would take the time, we’d find a better way. The problem’s discontentment. Let’s make a little more. Gratify our inner greed and overfill our store. Here is my suggestion. A better way to go. A method that is guaranteed; that everyone should know. Open an investment in Heaven’s Super-bank. Nothing will depreciate. For that, there’s God to thank. There are no thieves to steal it. Nor moths who will devour. And you have access to it, regardless of the hour. Perhaps you cannot see it. But it is there for sure. And it’s accumulating though it’s used to feed the poor. There is a crown of righteousness; but Jesus knows what’s true. And says that where your heart is, your treasure is there too. So take a tip from David from those days and in his time. Do not look for vengeance. It isn’t worth a dime. Keep in mind your covenant and do not throw back spears. This is still the way in spite of some three thousand years. Try to be forgiving no matter what’s been done. And you will be a student of God the Father’s Son! Jim Strickland Written 29th March 2012