Gold, Silver or Jesus?

Proverbs 8:10, 19 - Receive my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold; My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver.  

I am reminded often about something that occurred in Arizona. I was headed out to run an errand one day in Arizona. As I drove along the hilly, winding road in the Gold Canyon neighborhood I noticed a house being built on top of a prominent hill. The house seems to extend from one end of the hill to the other. It is huge. 

I felt sorrow in my heart. Is this true happiness, having the most extrusive home in the community? I didn’t feel disgust, I just felt sad. 

Later in the week as my shuttle driver was running me to the airport he said he wanted to show me a house he'd been watching over the past few months. It was the same house. He explained that it was 40,000 square feet. (This seems to be debatable.) The clubhouse at the golf course this house is being built on is 40,000 square feet! 

God provides for us, and will provide for us, as I’ve mentioned before. Sometimes provision comes in monetary ways. It's how we use that sort of provision that is important. God provides but He expects us to be stewards of what He has given us. I don't know who is building the house or how many people will live there. I just feel sadness because I know that our stuff isn't really what makes us happy. I wonder how happy these people are, or think they are? I know people buy because it gives them temporary satisfaction. But that satisfaction is never truly achieved so they spend more, seeking more. That’s where Jesus comes in...

I have to admit I grew up having everything and anything as a child. It was the only way, I believe, my parents knew how to show their love. I didn't realize it at the time because I was happy having all my stuff, but I lacked the hugs, encouragement and a happy, loving family home.

I’m guilty of buying sometimes when I don’t need something. I’m also capable of putting things in a cart and then putting things back when this nagging feeling comes over me that I just don’t need it! And I rarely buy anything for its full price. I just can’t do it often. 

What’s really important in life? I think of what John 12:25 tells us: He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If we love what we have on earth but forsake the knowledge of God, we will lose our eternal lives; if we don’t place such a high regard on our stuff in this life and grow in our knowledge of and place our utmost importance in God we will have eternal life. Knowing where we will spend our eternal life is more important than all this stuff which will be of absolutely no importance. Simplifying our stuff and lives and knowing which to choose is the best bet. 

So where do I start? My biggest vice is books. Just ask my husband! Some books I may never read but at the time I purchased them there was a real "need" to have. I don’t know what it is. I have mentioned this before, I think. I remember contemplating which books I would absolutely want to take if I had to limit myself. Which would be the most important to me? A little voice said, There’s only one Book you really need to have. It’s the one that tells us what is most important in life. It tells us about Jesus, about the freedom we have in Him, having the wisdom of God implanted in our minds, in knowing His truth, how mourning is turned into joy, how death is turned into life...without stuff.

What’s important? Is anything you have or own, including people, guaranteed to last? Don’t we all know that anything can be taken away in a heartbeat? Look at all those devastated by tornadoes. Do we know that we know Jesus? Do we know that if we have Him, we have it all? Do we find what He has to offer is more precious than silver or gold? Isn't our eternal life worth more than anything we have on this earth? Can we grasp this concept? 

Wisdom in our choices is what's important. It determines our lifestyle. Our life on earth is only temporary. We came into this world without stuff and we will die without stuff. The most important thing is knowing that Jesus bought our lives with His blood...and He wants to share that life with us through relationship with us. 

This world is changing and it’s not all for the good, unless one gets to a place where we fully put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ alone. Then nothing that happens in this world matters because we know our lives are secure in Him. 

If we like stuff because it makes us feel important or we want to stand out, we’ve got it a bit backwards, according to God. It’s not about how important we think we are in this world, but how important we are in His eyes when we have given ourselves to Him. He tells us the first will be last and the last first, being a servant is better than being served, humility outweighs pride. This is what Jesus was and what He teaches us to be. That, to me, is worth more than silver or gold. Jesus and what He did for me is more important than all other things.

BTW, the house in Arizona seems to be on hold. Causes one to wonder why. Thankfully, our house in Heaven already exists and there’s a place for us now if we have the Lord Jesus as our Savior.

1Peter 1:17-20 - ...conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here [on earth] in fear [reverent fear of God]; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Protection, Provision, Prosperity

Matthew 6:31-33 - Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?” or "What shall we drink?” or "What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

To continue with Monday's blog on knowing we are protected, provided for and prospered (not necessarily with riches), came an article by David Wilkerson (May 19, 1931- April 27, 2011) that a friend had to show me since we had discussed this.

I truly know that He wants us to remember what He does for His people, Who He is for us, how He will provide...because His Word proclaims these things. Remember is the key word! Like Israel on a sort of different level, we forget, as I mentioned yesterday.

Wilkerson's message was called God is Going to See You Through Hard Times. It was written in the 1990's.

It may have answered the question about how He will do this. In a nutshell, the answer is, any way He needs to. Not quite the answer we would like to hear...no specifics. But it's His answer.

As Wilkerson pointed out, It's not always about food. It's about His words being ours by faith! He went on to say that when Israel began their journey in the wilderness (remember this is where my first answer all began!) all God had to do was speak, like He did to create the world, and the people were given manna from heaven. Manna was a form of sweet, coriander-like tasting seed that came down from the sky. It sustained them just fine. When questioned what it was, Moses told the people: This is the bread which the LORD has given you (Exodus 16:15).

Like the manna, Jesus is the Word of God come down from Heaven. He is to be our daily bread. His Word, within our hearts and souls, as we also discussed in Sunday school, is what will sustain us. That means Jesus must be in our lives, hearts and the depths of our souls. Jesus is the Bread which God has given us!

Wilkerson wrote: Do you want to know how God is going to preserve you in all your hard times? YES!! The answer, please! He will do it by speaking a new word, if necessary--by creating all you need by the power of His Word. All God had to do was speak the word "manna" and an entire generation of Israelites was preserved. So, whatever our need will be at the time, He will provide.

If He did it then, He will do it again. Jesus knew only to listen for His Father's voice and then obey. He did absolutely NOTHING on His own, under His own power. He waited on the LORD. If He didn't have to know until the just the right time, neither do we...or I! When He sees our need, He will provide. This is something some of us have not had to do in huge ways and probably why it's hard to comprehend.

God has known since the foundation of time what our needs would/will be. We are to seek Him first and all our needs are handled.

I had that moment of anxiety about how God would provide and would I have enough faith...and look at the words He has given me! Isn't that provision of sorts? They are the very manna from Heaven for this soul! As Wilkerson went on to write: It is to bestow on us an unshakable conviction that he is going to keep us from the power of the wicked one. It is His Word tucked away in our spirits and hearts that give us this consolation. That's why it is so important to have it engrained in our spirits. So that we will know...or we can be easily reminded.

It's still all about Jesus, the Word, our Manna, our Sustainer in all things. He is the Word we are to keep hidden within our heart.  Jesus, the Son of God, the Word that became flesh...His Word in our hearts and lives. Do you see? Know Him comes first...so you can keep Him in your heart and when you know Him, His Word comes alive and can also be planted deep within your heart. The same word that will keep us then (in heaven) is the word that is sustaining us now, Wilkerson wrote.

He went on to say The overcomers ... triumphed in the worst of times because the whole Word of God came alive...  The Word became flesh. Jesus, our Word made flesh, who saves us from all unrighteousness by the power of His Word when we receive Him.

Psalm 119:49-50 - Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope. This  is  my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.

Another Reminder!

Exodus 11:6-7 - Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

Once again I pondered things in my heart. One day last week I wondered how, in the real day of trouble, God would protect His children. How would I know if I have enough knowledge and strength? Would I be found doubting?

As usual, I know the Lord was hearing my thoughts. He led me to think on some promises: He will never leave us or forsake us; He protects those who call Him their God; He is our provider. Oh, I know those promises...but HOW would I know when or how He would provide?

So the question came to mind, why do we doubt? The answer: because we are human. Another possible answer for some: because some of us have never undergone some of the difficulties others have. 

In the above scripture you can substitute Egypt with the world and Israel with God’s children. These events in Exodus were experienced and expressed that we might have an example of God’s faithfulness.

Well, since the time of my wondering, I have received three teachings to confirm that God will protect His children, those who call Him their LORD. Not that I didn't already know some of this! 

The first one came the morning after my questions. I was reading in Exodus (Chapters 11-15) about the departure of Israel out of Egypt, all done by the mighty hand of God. I won’t go into detail about the symbolism of how they escaped God’s wrath on Egypt. Read those  chapters if you want specifics. Just know this: It was by God’s command, and His Word, and the shed blood of an unblemished lamb that Israel, His people, His children, escaped the burden of slavery in Egypt and went on their way to their Promised Land, the land promised to His people by God. 

Jesus is our Word, the Word of God, He was the spotless Lamb of God who shed His blood that we would be taken out of the world and satan’s slavery, into our Promised Land in Heaven. The land promised to us if we choose to follow the Way that God has provided through Jesus Christ.

All that to say that God protected them. They saw miracle after miracle by His hand against Pharaoh and Egypt, but they were not affected by any of them! And amazingly, three days later they forgot and complained about not having water! What’s that all about?? They actually saw His miracles and were saved from their enemy’s hands! How could they? But this is where my doubts come in. I, we, have not experienced in our lives times, such things as recession, depression, hunger or need. We, for the most part, have had anything we ever wanted.

I’ve said this before and I’ll continue to say it...we are living in troubling times. Some may believe that we will bounce back from any calamity, but I believe we are experiencing what the Bible tells us is the “beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8). We are seeing natural disasters more frequently, governments and nations teetering, morality at it’s low point only to get worse, if that’s possible. God is unhappy...

But God...has promised that He will watch over those He calls His children. We may not ever have an answer to the how He will provide, but we can know He will. This is where faith and trust come in. I believe we have not yet seen disaster like Israel experienced in Egypt. We’ve had our freedom in this nation. If that’s taken away...disaster might arise. 

Then in Sunday school we talked about being victorious in this world if we proclaim the name of Jesus, are sealed by His blood, know His Word and know what His promises are for us. As we were in prayer the words came to me: remember, your name means victorious! Yes, my name--Laurie--a derivative of laurel, means victory. And He first chose us to be victorious. We need to remember He first chooses us; what a privilege. God tells us we are victorious, triumphant, if we have chosen Christ, and become overcomers because of Him.

Then our sermon! More on provision and protection. God’s plans are to prosper us, take care of us even though the winds of change blow into our lives, Pastor Rory Grooters told us. Sometimes we don’t make the right choice and we walk out of the provision and protection, but sometimes it’s because someone else chooses to make the wrong choice and we are affected by it. But God...still provides in spite of anything that may happen in our lives to bring upset...if we call ourselves children of God.

God is always in control. If we truly believe that and we truly know that we are called His children, that is His promise to us. We need not be afraid, nor do we need doubt. If Jesus could walk on water, He can calm the storm in our lives--till the end of the age. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. There are reminders all throughout the Bible of His provision.

Pastor Rory also told us, in addition to God being in control, that we need to see things from a different perspective (God’s). He might be making the winds to blow in our lives to bring about a necessary change in order to bless someone else or to become blessed. And we should work and be busy despite what winds are blowing; use what we’ve got. These blowing winds should not be thought of as an obstacle but a detour before our destination. We should let God lift us up over the storms of life, let us soar on eagles’  wings (Exodus 19:4, Isaiah 40:31).

The Lord has shown me in no uncertain terms, a gentle reminder, that He is in control and because I am His child He will provide, protect and prosper me. It may not always be in ways I would like or even fully understand, but He will be there for me. 

Should the days ahead become ominous, I hope you take this to heart, perhaps remember it. He will protect if you first choose the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and determine to trust in Him, let Him be your strength. He will deliver us. 

Psalm 37:3-4, 39-40 - Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. ...He is [your] strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help [us] and deliver [us]; He shall deliver [us] from the wicked, and save [us], because [we] trust in Him.