Did you hear President-elect Obama's speech on his economic recovery package on January 8th? He made one very important point in his speech that I believe that just about everybody can agree on. Our nation is in some very serious economic trouble and things will most likely get worse before they get better. His solution is for the government to lead the way out of this crisis and for us as citizens to do our part to make things better. Giving our newly elected president the benefit of the doubt, let's just assume that through government leadership and citizen participation, we can get ourselves back on good, solid economic footing in say three or four years. What do we do to cope with things while we are going through this recovery period? I am not an economist, so I am not going to venture a guess as to just how bad things will get, but I do believe they will get worse.
As a Christian, what is my best course of action during this period in our nations history? I'm glad you asked that question! God makes some things pretty clear in the Scriptures regarding our economic health.
I was reading in Genesis, chapter 22, this morning during my private devotions. this is the account of how God requires Abraham to offer his son Isaac, the son of promise, as a sacrifice. Yes, that means exactly what it sounds like. God had commanded Abraham to kill Isaac as a human sacrifice! Now, there are many lessons in this passage of scripture, however, I want to concentrate on God's provision. If you will recall, Abraham and Isaac, along with two of his servants, gather the wood and fire for the sacrifice and head off to the mountain. When they arrive Abraham has the two servants stay behind, and has Isaac carry the wood for the altar up the mountain. Now, Isaac is not blind, he notices that they have the wood and the fire for the sacrifice, but no lamb for the sacrifice! He asks Abraham where the lamb is and he simply tells Isaac that God will supply the lamb for the sacrifice. Once they reach the place on the mountain where the sacrifice is to take place, Abraham prepares the altar and he places Isaac on the altar. Now the scripture says that Abraham bound Isaac and laid him on the Altar. That indicates to me that Isaac may not have been exactly a willing partner in this transaction! Anyway, as Abraham raises the knife to deliver the killing blow to Isaac, an angel of the Lord intervenes and stops him. God tells him that he was being tested, and that he has passed the test. Abraham then spots the ram that God has provided to complete the sacrifice. Abraham then names that spot on the mountain, The Lord Will Provide.
From this account, we see one of the character traits of God revealed in one of His names Jehovah-jireh, the God who provides. It is this principle of God as our provider that I want to explore today. Have you ever heard anyone say "God helps those who help themselves"? Well, grab your concordance and find the passage in the Bible that says that. Okay, put your Bible down, I'll save you the time, it is not in there. Let's take a brief look at what God does say about receiving His divine provision.
One of the first things we can see from Genesis 22 is that God provides for those who obey Him. Now please understand, God can provide for anyone, anytime, anywhere, as He pleases, because after all, He is God! Having said that, there are many passages in scripture that indicate that He will give priority to those who choose to consistently obey Him over those who choose to disobey Him or obey him sporadically. Even our government expects obedience to the law of the land in return for it's help and provision!
One of the areas we are to be obedient in return for God's provision is tithing. When we give God a tithe we are to give him 10% of everything that we receive as income. In return He promises several things. According to Malachi 3:10 if we are faithful in giving our tithe he will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that we will not even be capable of storing! Furthermore, in verse 11 he promises to "...rebuke the devourer for your sakes", in other words, he will keep Satan from taking away the 90% you have left after tithing. Let me ask you a quick question here, do you feel like your job or your income is in jeopardy during these rough economic times? Who do you think is behind that? That's right, Satan, the devourer. Some believe that tithing is an Old Testament requirement and that under the new covenant we are no longer bound by that command. That is an argument for another time perhaps, but for now, just take a look at verse 6.
I don't want this to turn into a lengthy article, and there are many good books written about the how to live in God's provision. Let's just quickly look at the principle of Sowing and Reaping. First, let's look at sowing and reaping in the natural realm. When you plant one kernel of corn you get a corn stalk that yields hundreds of kernels of corn in return. The same thing holds true for anything else that you plant in the natural realm. Now, if you plant NO corn kernels how many do you have waiting for you at harvest time? Right, zero, zilch, nada! Oh, by the way, if you want to reap corn you have to sow corn, if you want wheat you sow wheat, etc. So, now you get the point, you have to sow something to reap something.
So, how does this work in the spiritual realm? Let's take a quick look at just a couple of scriptures to get us started. You can look some more scriptures up later to help you better understand God's provision.
First let's look at Luke 6:38, " Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Here Jesus gives a pretty solid picture of what He believes about giving. If you give, you receive. Pretty simple isn't it? While He doesn't explicitly state it, you can surmise that if you don't give, you don't receive!
The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 9:6&7 tells us "(6)But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. (7) Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." He simply says that whoever sows much reaps much. He also goes on to say that is is an act of the will and it is to be done cheerfully, not under duress.
Well, I've rambled on long enough! Needless to say, if we want God's divine provision during these challenging economic times we need to be obedient in paying our tithes and liberal in our offerings!
But then, what do I know? I'm just a rodeo clown! Until next time, may God richly bless you, your family, and your ministry unto Him!
Your servant in Christ Jesus,
As a Christian, what is my best course of action during this period in our nations history? I'm glad you asked that question! God makes some things pretty clear in the Scriptures regarding our economic health.
I was reading in Genesis, chapter 22, this morning during my private devotions. this is the account of how God requires Abraham to offer his son Isaac, the son of promise, as a sacrifice. Yes, that means exactly what it sounds like. God had commanded Abraham to kill Isaac as a human sacrifice! Now, there are many lessons in this passage of scripture, however, I want to concentrate on God's provision. If you will recall, Abraham and Isaac, along with two of his servants, gather the wood and fire for the sacrifice and head off to the mountain. When they arrive Abraham has the two servants stay behind, and has Isaac carry the wood for the altar up the mountain. Now, Isaac is not blind, he notices that they have the wood and the fire for the sacrifice, but no lamb for the sacrifice! He asks Abraham where the lamb is and he simply tells Isaac that God will supply the lamb for the sacrifice. Once they reach the place on the mountain where the sacrifice is to take place, Abraham prepares the altar and he places Isaac on the altar. Now the scripture says that Abraham bound Isaac and laid him on the Altar. That indicates to me that Isaac may not have been exactly a willing partner in this transaction! Anyway, as Abraham raises the knife to deliver the killing blow to Isaac, an angel of the Lord intervenes and stops him. God tells him that he was being tested, and that he has passed the test. Abraham then spots the ram that God has provided to complete the sacrifice. Abraham then names that spot on the mountain, The Lord Will Provide.
From this account, we see one of the character traits of God revealed in one of His names Jehovah-jireh, the God who provides. It is this principle of God as our provider that I want to explore today. Have you ever heard anyone say "God helps those who help themselves"? Well, grab your concordance and find the passage in the Bible that says that. Okay, put your Bible down, I'll save you the time, it is not in there. Let's take a brief look at what God does say about receiving His divine provision.
One of the first things we can see from Genesis 22 is that God provides for those who obey Him. Now please understand, God can provide for anyone, anytime, anywhere, as He pleases, because after all, He is God! Having said that, there are many passages in scripture that indicate that He will give priority to those who choose to consistently obey Him over those who choose to disobey Him or obey him sporadically. Even our government expects obedience to the law of the land in return for it's help and provision!
One of the areas we are to be obedient in return for God's provision is tithing. When we give God a tithe we are to give him 10% of everything that we receive as income. In return He promises several things. According to Malachi 3:10 if we are faithful in giving our tithe he will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that we will not even be capable of storing! Furthermore, in verse 11 he promises to "...rebuke the devourer for your sakes", in other words, he will keep Satan from taking away the 90% you have left after tithing. Let me ask you a quick question here, do you feel like your job or your income is in jeopardy during these rough economic times? Who do you think is behind that? That's right, Satan, the devourer. Some believe that tithing is an Old Testament requirement and that under the new covenant we are no longer bound by that command. That is an argument for another time perhaps, but for now, just take a look at verse 6.
I don't want this to turn into a lengthy article, and there are many good books written about the how to live in God's provision. Let's just quickly look at the principle of Sowing and Reaping. First, let's look at sowing and reaping in the natural realm. When you plant one kernel of corn you get a corn stalk that yields hundreds of kernels of corn in return. The same thing holds true for anything else that you plant in the natural realm. Now, if you plant NO corn kernels how many do you have waiting for you at harvest time? Right, zero, zilch, nada! Oh, by the way, if you want to reap corn you have to sow corn, if you want wheat you sow wheat, etc. So, now you get the point, you have to sow something to reap something.
So, how does this work in the spiritual realm? Let's take a quick look at just a couple of scriptures to get us started. You can look some more scriptures up later to help you better understand God's provision.
First let's look at Luke 6:38, " Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Here Jesus gives a pretty solid picture of what He believes about giving. If you give, you receive. Pretty simple isn't it? While He doesn't explicitly state it, you can surmise that if you don't give, you don't receive!
The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 9:6&7 tells us "(6)But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. (7) Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." He simply says that whoever sows much reaps much. He also goes on to say that is is an act of the will and it is to be done cheerfully, not under duress.
Well, I've rambled on long enough! Needless to say, if we want God's divine provision during these challenging economic times we need to be obedient in paying our tithes and liberal in our offerings!
But then, what do I know? I'm just a rodeo clown! Until next time, may God richly bless you, your family, and your ministry unto Him!
Your servant in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Bob
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