Cannot Serve The Lord And Money

1 Timothy 6:10

 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matt 6:24

Oh, my... so many unworthy masters; false gods in the lives of those who profess to be Christians! I seem to have to warn people about false gods way too much. Over and over again over many years I have been warning people I love about the evil that comes with the love of money. I hope that this is not a season that I will be, again, reminding the same people to beware of the false gods of greed and of money and material things; for these false gods will sneak into your lives without you even knowing it. If you are not very careful, they will drag you down and pull you away from the master who truly loves you.

I am not implying that if you have a lot of money that you do not love or serve God. In fact, maybe you are one whom God has richly blessed and you use what He has given use wisely and for His glory. He is your first love, the riches are merely a tool to reach out to others, glorifying His Holy Name. Be wise; though, and understand that the pursuit of gaining money and things can quickly take over your life and in the end you may realize that it was not God (the one who blessed you) that you loved; rather, it was riches in this world.

Use the gifts that God has given use in a manner that might glorify Him.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Prosperity Gospel, Oy!

"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!" Galatians 1:3-8

Oy! Oy! Oy! Such blasphemy coming out of a preacher's mouth! I woke up early this morning to spend some time alone with God. My husband had fallen asleep with the television on. I woke up to a pastor proclaiming that faith did not build the church he was ministering to, money did! Of course, he was encouraging everyone to plant a seed with his ministry so that the giver would become rich in this world. Again, I say, "Oy!" Oh, yes... although, he claimed the validity of hell, he claimed that Jesus did not save us from it. Say... what!?

The proclamation we are called and sent to share with all the world has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with the Kingdom of God for us, by faith in Jesus who shed his blood on the cross for us. We are to preach no other Gospel than the Christ crucified.

May God help us to see and receive the most priceless treasure we could ask for: reconciliation with God, in His Kingdom, through faith in Jesus Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J