Thankfulness

 

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." -Colossians 3:15

The best cure for restlessness and lack of contentment is learning to be thankful. 

Contentment doesn't have to do with the stuff we have now, the place we're at, where we want to be, or the person we hope to be - it has to do with a choice that we make in our hearts in the here and now. The Bible says, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise." (Ps 100:4) Thankfulness invites the peace and presence of God.

There is a story of a blind boy who sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were just a few coins in the hat.

"A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up.

A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it." Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?"

What do you have to be thankful for today? 





Source: http://activerain.com/blogsview/1603377/a-parable-about-being-thankful

True Financial Freedom

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."  -1 Timothy 6:10

Have you seen anyone destroyed by money? I have.  Have you ever seen someone use money wisely? I've seen that too.  It's difficult to live life without money, but sometimes its presence makes life hard.  How can we make money work for us, instead of us working for it? What are God's purposes for money?

Notice that the above verse doesn’t say that money itself is evil; the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.  The fruit of someone's heart is often revealed by how and where they spend their money.  Are we spending our money on kingdom building initiatives?  Or are we spending it unwisely?  Are we investing money to grow it?  Or are we throwing it away on bad investments because we lack skill? Are we trusting God with our tithe & giving to the poor?  Or are we hoarding money like the wicked & lazy servant Jesus described?  (Matt 25:26)

God desires that we prosper.  The Bible says it is He who gives us the ability to create wealth.  (Deut 8:18)  When we put God first, the rest of our lives fall into place.  It doesn't mean we don't need skill to make and keep money - we absolutely do.  But how we earn that money, and what we do with that money once we earn it is very important in the eyes of our God. 

Most people are in debt.  Debt has become a cultural norm.  In order to be a people financially free and set apart, we have to think differently about money than most people. In order for us to get out of debt, we need to do different things than people who are in debt! Most people don't understand what money is.  Money is not just the ability to buy things; it is a tool to be used.  Money is not just a way to our wants and desires; it is "seed" for our future, and the future of others. 

Do you want to set yourself apart in the area of money?  Good training in this area is crucial so that God's purposes can be accomplished in our lives, and in the world around us.  Pray that God would make you wise in the area of money.

"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today." -Deuteronomy 8:18