Are You Living as the Poor, Rich Man or the Rich, Poor Man?

Why would someone who is rich pretend to be poor?

That’s the question that surfaced when I read this Proverb today:

“Some who are poor, pretend to be rich;

others who are rich, pretend to be poor.”

The word “pretend” isn’t in the original text but the root words translate to:

There is one who MAKES himself rich by accumulating things & yet has absolutely nothing;

& there is one who MAKES himself impoverished, yet has abundant sufficiency.

So there you have it:

• a poor, rich man

• a rich, poor man

The foundational Truth about poverty is this: We are ALL impoverished & in desperate need of a Savior!

We are dependent paupers in a finite world governed by our infinite God!

He is:

All powerful

Creator of all people

Sustainer of all things

…& there is one thing He gives all=> our will.

He didn’t make us robots who’re forced to follow His lead. He gives each of us a will. When it is not under bit & bridle of the Holy Spirit’s lead, our will WILL ALWAYS lead us in the opposite direction of The All Sufficient One.

The poor, rich man are many in number today. They ignore their position of dependence & are completely unaware of their sin & daily need of a Savior. Their unconscious complacency lets their will be led like a slave into the rat race of accumulating much, while impoverishing their eternal purpose. Time & talents are used to accumulate temporal treasures.

The rich, poor man, however, knows the temporality of the treasures he owns, so he wields his time, talents & subsequent treasures to accumulate wealth eternal - souls for God’s kingdom.

Jesus said blessed are the POOR in spirit for they shall inherit the kingdom of heaven! When I let my spirit lead my will in submission UNDER the authority of the HOLY Spirit, I become rich eternal!

AND when I remember Whose I am, I live as royalty, knowing I need not strive to accumulate ANYTHING, because my daddy owns it all anyway, right?!

Oh, Father, remind us of our desperate need of You! Our sufficiency comes from The All Sufficient One, so we can give freely & with extravagant generosity because our daddy owns cattle on a 1,000 hills! May our lives this side of heaven ever be lived as a rich, poor man 💞

#OneYearBible

April 16th One Year Bible Readings

JOSHUA 13:1-14:15

LUKE 18:1-17

PSALM 85:1-13

PROVERBS 13:7-8

Defining, “The Good Life”

When my youngest was little, we’d make funny hand motions & accents to help him memorize verses. Whenever I hear Genesis 1:31, I picture him saying it with a deep southern drawl, “God saw all that He’d made , and it wuz goooooood!” He’d make a little fist and jabbed it across his body when he said the long, drawn out, “good”😂

This morning, when I read about, “The Good Life” in Psalm 84, these questions  popped:

“How do you define, “The Good Life”?

What’s “good” mean to you?

If you could waive a magic wand, what would you change to make things “good”?

It’s a worthy exercise because if we claim that Jesus is Lord, we honestly need change nothing but increase our trust in Him😬

The writer of the passage tells us how he longs to be near God-he writes that anyone who sets their mind on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, will find their strength in Him!

When we recall that we’re all on pilgrimage to the New Jerusalem, even a valley of weeping can become good.

The passage closes with a great visual: 

“I’d rather be a gatekeeper in God’s house than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.”

Again what’s “good” & how do we live the good life?

Luke 17 tells us of Jesus’s pilgrimage to Jerusalem. His mind is set on passionate fire for us! The very word passion means to suffer. His passion was to make way to the place where he’d be beaten, crucified & killed for no sin of his own, but the entire world! That’s the good life for Him!

(For what or Whom are WE willing to suffer?)

He said, “If you cling to your life, you will lose it, but if you let your life go, you’ll save it!”

Y’all, “good “ means to have moral qualities BEST adapted to its design & use.

When God created us, it was “good”! Are we living the good life that He intended when He designed us? We can only do that through His power & Presence!

Where does your heart call home when things are hard? When we remind our mind, will & emotions that we are simply travelers passing through, our spiritual, relational & emotional home is with Him regardless of the valleys we face!

God saw all that He’d made & it IS good! Placing faith in the Father & letting His Son become Lord will always lead to The Good Life!

#OneYearBible

April 15th One Year Bible Readings

JOSHUA 11:1-12:24

LUKE 17:11-37

PSALM 84:1-12

PROVERBS 13:5-6

Facing a Decision? Be Wary of Accepting Evidence Alone as Guaranteed Truth.

Are you facing a weighty decision today? Maybe it’s a good thing like a sudden open door?  Or maybe it’s a hard thing like receiving a bad report? I’m facing a decision that feels unclear & the way ahead seems cloudy. I think it’s easier in the hard to understand our need of God’s consult, than when the evidence points in a clear direction.

The older I get, I understand far more how my affairs miscarry for lack of counsel. It’s not that the Lord is withholding counsel, I just sometimes forget to ask when the way ahead seems clear of obstacles.

That’s what happened with Joshua. Some unscrupulous neighbors heard how he destroyed Jericho & Ai, & resorted to deceit to save themselves.

They put on raggedy clothes & sandals, then hop on donkeys loaded with worn out wineskins & moldy bread to make the short trip to Israel.

When they arrive, they beg Israel to make a peace treaty with them. When asked if they live close by, they lie & say they’ve been on a long journey, urging the men to examine the evidence-the moldy bread, worn out wineskins & raggedy attire.

What happens next should stop all of us in our tracks with ANY decision we are about to make:

“So the Israelites examined their food, but did not consult the Lord.”😳

They accepted the evidence as guaranteed truth. The facts affirm the lying mens words, so the Israelites make a hasty conclusion without the Lord’s consult 👉🏽they unknowingly make a binding oath of peace with the local Gibeonite people.

Are you facing evidence today that tempts you to rush towards a hasty conclusion?  Be careful not to come into agreement with evidence alone - whether a good report OR a bad one. 

Let this story serve as a reminder to take God with you on your decision-making journey! Weighty concerns require caution & consult, even when the evidence points to a choice that just “makes sense”!

Father, let us not neglect Your counsel & Holy Spirit help us proceed with caution. Guard us from coming into agreement with evidence before first seeking God’s will & way ahead. Bring to mind any decision we are facing & lead us in your way forward for it is only in the Presence of Your counsel that we experience safety & success.

#OneYearBible

April 14th One Year Bible Readings

JOSHUA 9:3-10:43

LUKE 16:19-17:10

PSALM 83:1-18

PROVERBS 13:4