October 20 2013
The God Who Created The Universe Wants To Talk To You! Do You have Time To Listen?
1 Timothy 6:9-11 (NIV)
9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
Verse 10 is often misquoted as; “The love of money is the root of all evil!” Note it does not say “all evil,” but “all kinds of evil!” It states “money is a root” not “money is the root!” So all evil does not come from a love for money but many kinds of evil do come from this love! Therefore, we can seek to become rich without loving money, more than we love God! Jesus told us how difficult it is to do this in Matthew 19:23. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Notice Jesus did not say impossible, He said, “it is hard!” So when we seek wealth it makes it difficult to keep a good perspective for where and when God fits in our lives!
The world bombards us with the importance of amassing wealth. This is especially true in this country. People seeking wealth cause much of the unrest in this world! An old bumper sticker summed up this effort well, “Whoever has the most toys wins!” This bumper sticker may have included the phrase “when they die,” as in, “Whoever has the most toys when they die wins!” Even if I messed it up, you probably get the picture!
In the selected verses Paul clarifies the meaning of verse 11 for those he is addressing, which changes from the problem of trying to get rich to not being a problem. Where do you fit into such comments? Are your desires described by verse 9 and 10, or does verse 11 apply to you? Do most Christians in this country today fit into verses 9 and 10, or are we better described by verse 11?
It is not wrong to seek a better life in this world. It only becomes a problem when we spend too much of our energy seeking wealth, then there is not enough of us left for God! The fact is God requires us to give Him our first fruits, not whatever is left over! We are expected by God to give the first ten-percent to Him, not whatever we have left after we have used what we want! This does not relate just to our money, it relates to whatever we have to give! God requires us to put Him first and in the center of our life! Yes, even before our family, our job, and whatever else we hold in high esteem!
Are you a person of God fleeing from the entrapments of the world? Are you spending some of the best parts of each day to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness”? Gentleness is not something that most people in this country would advertise about themselves! Most of the ads tell us to be strong and fearless, and “Just do it!” We have been told we must be assertive to get ahead in the “Dog eat dog world!” However, who wants to eat dog? If we say something wrong and are caught, then we must “eat crow!” I do not know who created such menus, but it is doubtful you want them as your chef!
What does this world expect from you? Do you really know based upon what some people tell you it wants? We should be concerned what other people think about us, HOWEVER, we MUST be concerned much more with what God thinks about us! God loves us no matter what we do, but we should want to do what God desires for us! The only way you can find out what God desires for us is to read His Word, every day! If you read His Word and talk to Him constantly, then you can have a good idea what He wants us to do! Yes, you can talk to God constantly! Not just to ask Him for things, but also to thank Him for the wonderful life He has made available for us!
Some people do not know they can talk to God, and that He will answer them! My grandson once said, “I didn’t know you could talk to God!” He said this after watching a DVD about two caterpillars, in which they talk to God quite often. In this movie these caterpillars talk to God, and He answers them audibly, they hear His voice! Well in real life we do not usually, actually hear His response, but if we look around us we will detect His answer! Take the time to record what you are praying for, and then look to confirm He answered. It is a wonderful inspiring task of looking for what God does around you every day!
Did you ever think about the amazing options we have as believers? At any time of every day, we can talk to the God who created the universe! Not only can we talk to Him, but also He looks forward to these discussions and He answers us! Have you heard God speaking to you lately? If not, maybe it is because you do not really believe He will talk to you! Start listening for His voice, and believe and He may talk to you! If you believe He listens to you when you talk to Him, then how could you not talk to Him at every opportunity! Your talking does not need to be a formal prayer, in fact, it is better, if it is not someone else’s prayer! Just talk to your Father, He is waiting to hear from you!
You may be wondering what we may gain by diverting our lives from chasing the riches of this world to instead follow Jesus? Let's close this commentary with the words of Jesus, as recorded by Luke. Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no-one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.” (Luke 18:28-30) Is eternal life a good enough reason to put Jesus first?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
1 Timothy 6:9-11 (NIV)
9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
Verse 10 is often misquoted as; “The love of money is the root of all evil!” Note it does not say “all evil,” but “all kinds of evil!” It states “money is a root” not “money is the root!” So all evil does not come from a love for money but many kinds of evil do come from this love! Therefore, we can seek to become rich without loving money, more than we love God! Jesus told us how difficult it is to do this in Matthew 19:23. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Notice Jesus did not say impossible, He said, “it is hard!” So when we seek wealth it makes it difficult to keep a good perspective for where and when God fits in our lives!
The world bombards us with the importance of amassing wealth. This is especially true in this country. People seeking wealth cause much of the unrest in this world! An old bumper sticker summed up this effort well, “Whoever has the most toys wins!” This bumper sticker may have included the phrase “when they die,” as in, “Whoever has the most toys when they die wins!” Even if I messed it up, you probably get the picture!
In the selected verses Paul clarifies the meaning of verse 11 for those he is addressing, which changes from the problem of trying to get rich to not being a problem. Where do you fit into such comments? Are your desires described by verse 9 and 10, or does verse 11 apply to you? Do most Christians in this country today fit into verses 9 and 10, or are we better described by verse 11?
It is not wrong to seek a better life in this world. It only becomes a problem when we spend too much of our energy seeking wealth, then there is not enough of us left for God! The fact is God requires us to give Him our first fruits, not whatever is left over! We are expected by God to give the first ten-percent to Him, not whatever we have left after we have used what we want! This does not relate just to our money, it relates to whatever we have to give! God requires us to put Him first and in the center of our life! Yes, even before our family, our job, and whatever else we hold in high esteem!
Are you a person of God fleeing from the entrapments of the world? Are you spending some of the best parts of each day to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness”? Gentleness is not something that most people in this country would advertise about themselves! Most of the ads tell us to be strong and fearless, and “Just do it!” We have been told we must be assertive to get ahead in the “Dog eat dog world!” However, who wants to eat dog? If we say something wrong and are caught, then we must “eat crow!” I do not know who created such menus, but it is doubtful you want them as your chef!
What does this world expect from you? Do you really know based upon what some people tell you it wants? We should be concerned what other people think about us, HOWEVER, we MUST be concerned much more with what God thinks about us! God loves us no matter what we do, but we should want to do what God desires for us! The only way you can find out what God desires for us is to read His Word, every day! If you read His Word and talk to Him constantly, then you can have a good idea what He wants us to do! Yes, you can talk to God constantly! Not just to ask Him for things, but also to thank Him for the wonderful life He has made available for us!
Some people do not know they can talk to God, and that He will answer them! My grandson once said, “I didn’t know you could talk to God!” He said this after watching a DVD about two caterpillars, in which they talk to God quite often. In this movie these caterpillars talk to God, and He answers them audibly, they hear His voice! Well in real life we do not usually, actually hear His response, but if we look around us we will detect His answer! Take the time to record what you are praying for, and then look to confirm He answered. It is a wonderful inspiring task of looking for what God does around you every day!
Did you ever think about the amazing options we have as believers? At any time of every day, we can talk to the God who created the universe! Not only can we talk to Him, but also He looks forward to these discussions and He answers us! Have you heard God speaking to you lately? If not, maybe it is because you do not really believe He will talk to you! Start listening for His voice, and believe and He may talk to you! If you believe He listens to you when you talk to Him, then how could you not talk to Him at every opportunity! Your talking does not need to be a formal prayer, in fact, it is better, if it is not someone else’s prayer! Just talk to your Father, He is waiting to hear from you!
You may be wondering what we may gain by diverting our lives from chasing the riches of this world to instead follow Jesus? Let's close this commentary with the words of Jesus, as recorded by Luke. Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no-one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.” (Luke 18:28-30) Is eternal life a good enough reason to put Jesus first?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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