How Should Christians Make Financial Decisions? Insight From The Bible, Luke 9:23.

Is there one imperative that must guide the person of faith when they make decisions about money? Jesus gave one.

"Then he said to them all, 'if any man would follow me he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23.

UNIVERSAL
He said to them all "if any..." not just the special religious few but any who would follow him must do this.

FOLLOW
Every decision about money, time or relationships is a decision about obedience and following Jesus.

DENY
To deny is to say no to something. Here we must say no to our desires or wants and say yes to Jesus.

CROSS
The cross was a death sentence, in today's words, you might say take up your gallows or take your lethal injection. This was one of the hard sayings of Jesus- that we would live a life of death to self and obedience to him.

DAILY
What Jesus was saying here was not that you make a once in a life decision to follow him but live a daily lifestyle of following his example.

AND FOLLOW
You cannot follow someone who you don't know. We must follow Jesus but we must know and be intimate with Jesus to follow him.
     * Spend time with him.
     * Learn his words.
     * Emulate his life.
     * Take up his work.
     * Make his passions yours.

This is more than asking what would Jesus do, it is asking "How can I be like Jesus in this."

We each must make our own decisions based on the light God has given us; that light always points to His Christ. As you decide you must remember following Jesus is the best decision.

(c) Adron 1/14/14

What Did Jesus Say About Owning Things?

We are bombarded with advertisements that tell us we need this thing and should want that thing.  It may be a new car, electronic device, appliance, home, or latest fashion. Is it wrong to have lots of nice stuff?

A man asked Jesus to act as judge and settle an inheritance. Jesus replied, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:14,15.

Christ did not tell the man to do without; or take a vow of poverty, (at least not here, but one may want to read all of Luke 12). He did not condemn owning things either.

BE ON YOUR GUARD
You guard against something because it can do you harm. When it comes to possessions we must be a watchful guard and not allow an enemy to true life enter.

     * A guard protects a location to keep evil from entering.
     * A guard must watch and keep looking for the foe.
     * A guard must be vigilant and not sleep or allow himself to be compromised.
     * A guard must be ready to do battle and even give his life to secure his post.

GREED
Greed always wants more. It has an appetite that is never quenched. It possesses for the sake of possession. Its focus is on the object.

Greed is an attitude of the heart. Two people may own the same object but each may have a different heart attitude, so for the one it is greed but for the other it is noble since he is acting as God's steward of a blessing.

LIFE
Life is not about getting things. There is nothing wrong with things or owing things but when we start to think the things give us meaning we have missed life. When we think things will make us happy we will not find happiness.

Jesus lived his words. He had to borrow a coin for an object lesson, (Matthew 22:19). He had to send Peter fishing to pay the tax,(Matthew 17:27). He had only the clothes on his back the day he died. (Mark 15:24). He said of himself, "Foxes have holes and birds have nest but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head." (Matthew 8:20).

WHAT IS LIFE ABOUT?
Jesus points to a relationship with the author of life; he said in his high priestly prayer of John 17, "This is eternal life that they may know You the only true God and him whom you sent." (John 17:3).

To learn more about how to have life in Christ follow this link to my other blog.

____________________________

Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope these post help.
See my most helpful post in the sidebar.

 Adron

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What did Jesus Say About Greed?

Anybody can be greedy, a child or senior citizen, a minimum wage earner or a corporate executive. Is it a bad thing? Doesn't it drive and motivate our economy? Jesus took a different view.

A man's brother was getting an unfair share of the inheritance so he went to Jesus and asked him to help divide the inheritance but Jesus would not. Then Jesus said to the crowd...

"...Watch out be on your guard against all kinds of greed, life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." Luke 12:15.

GREED
Greed is a strong desire that consumes us, this desire is to have and keep for oneself possessions of perceived extreme value, and these possessions are far beyond our need.

WATCH OUT & BE ON YOUR GUARD
Greed is so serious Christ uses a double phrase to warn how urgent the situation is. He says we should guard like a soldier on the wall scanning the horizon for an invading enemy; we should not let up for a moment but be vigilant in guarding against the enemy. We do not guard against a friend but against a foe, and greed is an enemy we must guard against.

ALL KINDS OF GREED
There are many temptations to greed and it comes in many forms.
     * Comforts.
     * Treasures.
     * Security.
     * Wealth.
     * Superior living standard.
     * Freedom.
     * To live better than others.
We may each have our own private greed that is a particular temptation to us. We must know it and guard against it.

LIFE
No one said it better than Christ when he said, "Life does not consist of in an abundance of possessions." All these things do not add up to you.

Jesus lived the most beautiful life ever lived. He said, "I have come so you may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10). But he also said, "Birds have nest and foxes have holes but the son of man, (Christ) had nowhere to lay his head." (Luke 9:58). He was poor.

This abundant life Our Lord taught was more fulfilling than one of gratification, luxury, satisfaction, or gluttony. His life was a life of service, giving, deeds of charity, and acts of compassion.

His disciples do not seek poverty, but they do not seek possessions either. What they do seek is the Lord. "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be yours as well." Matthew 6:33.

Does God have a Purpose for Money?

We get money then we spend money, we get more and we spend more, and we do it again and again. Is it some natural cycle or does God have a purpose in money- especially my money.

"So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth who will trust you with true riches." Luke 16:11, NIV.

IF
This Bible verse turns on the word, if. If says we have a one or other situation, like saying, "if this then that."

A CONDITION
The "either or" situation of the verse is the condition of being trustworthy, so this Bible verse is saying worldly wealth is a measure of your trustworthiness, basically it is a test.

TRUSTWORTHY
To be given a trust is to hold onto another person's property. God has placed a trust in us with something that he has given us- material wealth. Which also means it is his to begin with.

God gives us money or other worldly goods to prove that we are worthy or act virtuously. It shows our character. The way we handle money shows:

     * If we are generous.
     * If we are thankful.
     * If we respect God who gives it to us.
     * If we are self-seeking.
     * If we are short sighted.
     * If we think about others.
     * If we trust God.
     * If we keep our obligations.

WEALTH vs RICHES
Jesus speaks of money as unique to this worldly system. He treats it like it is a passing thing, and compares worldly wealth to true riches.  He does not give any details on what these true riches are but the sense is that they are superior and more genuine.

It must be that God has reserved true riches for those who prove themselves worthy by correctly handling the worldly wealth.

WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO DO WITH MONEY
The Bible has hundreds of passages that deal with that question. We each must search out with prayer and thoughtfulness what God is asking us to do with money.

To read the entire passage follow this link Luke 16:1-12.

Thank you for visiting my blog. 

I hope these post help.
See my most helpful post in the sidebar.

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(c) Adron