Category Archives: Money & Wealth

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August 24, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Joy, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Nature, Trusting God

THE ZINNIA MAN

zinnia - ACL20-horzweb

You’ll not likely go wrong here if you keep remembering that our Master said, “You’re far happier giving than getting.” [Acts 20:35b (MSG)]

“Wait a minute,” I called to the rest of the group as I paused at a house to take photos of some butterflies. The entire front yard was a palette of brightly colored blooms and I could see why the insects found it a delightful place to stop. Later that afternoon, we again passed by the same house. A man was in the yard tending his precious garden. I paused to thank him for the brilliantly colored flowers everyone enjoys as they walk through town. He replied that the rainbow of blossoms were zinnias and assured me these brilliantly colored flowers are among the easiest of plants to grow. “Let me give you one,” he said as he bent over to snip off a bright yellow bloom. I tried to stop him, telling him it would be wilted long before I reached home. Handing the stem to me, he told me just to enjoy it while it lasted.  “For every one of these I give away, I get another two flowers!” he joyfully added. He then cut a bright pink blossom and handed it to another passerby.

When this man gives away a flower, he not only gets a smile and a “thank you,” but he also gets two more blossoms! What a perfect illustration of the words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive!”

The most obvious lesson in Christ’s teaching is that there is no happiness in having or getting anything, but only in giving. [Henry Drummond]

Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. [Luke 6:38 (MSG)]

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June 27, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Money & Wealth, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

THE DOWNFALL

First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. [Proverbs 16:18 (MSG)]

God can’t stomach arrogance or pretense; believe me, he’ll put those upstarts in their place. [Proverbs 16:5 (MSG)]

angelSecond Chronicles tells of Uzziah, a man who became king of Judah at the age of sixteen and reigned for fifty-two years. A successful and renowned warrior, he defeated both Philistines and Arabs and expanded Judah’s borders. Uzziah was also a great builder; during his reign, cisterns were dug, towers fortified, forts built in the wilderness, and catapult-like machines that could sling stones and arrows were built on Jerusalem’s walls. With God’s help and guidance, Uzziah became famous and powerful.

Unfortunately, along with Uzziah’s renown and success came pride. He forgot that it was God’s power, not his, that had brought him so many triumphs. As long as he sought guidance from the Lord and acknowledged God’s actions, he had success. But when Uzziah no longer consulted God and acted as if God’s laws no longer applied to him, his life took a disastrous turn. The pride-filled king defied sacred law by entering the sanctuary of the temple and burning incense on the altar. The descendants of Aaron were the only ones authorized to be priests and perform the sacred rites of worship. When the priests confronted him, the king became enraged. Leprosy suddenly sprang out on his forehead as God’s punishment for his sin. The leprous Uzziah had to live in isolation and died in dishonor. The once great king is not remembered for his great achievements but rather for his downfall and punishment.

Four of the last seven governors in Illinois followed their gubernatorial terms with terms in the penitentiary. Rather than remembering each man’s achievements, we only recall their corruption. Another Illinois politician was recently imprisoned; instead of recalling his service in the House of Representatives, he only will be remembered as a child molester. Every day we see entertainers, sports stars, religious leaders, politicians, and business people, once great and powerful, who will not be celebrated for their accomplishments. Instead, they’ll be remembered for their cheating, deceitfulness, fraud, immorality, corruption and worse because, like Uzziah, pride led them to believe they were above the law. Instead of a Hall of Fame, their names will be listed in a Hall of Shame.

Indeed, pride does lead to destruction and conceit to a fall. Like Uzziah, we need to recognize the role God plays in our accomplishments. Anything we have achieved would have been impossible without God empowering and sustaining us. No matter how successful, respected, famous or powerful we may become, we must continue to seek God’s guidance and obey his laws. Remembering that our successes are because of God will help us avoid the sin of pride and all the problems that go along with it.

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. [Augustine]

Arrogance and pride—distinguishing marks in the wicked—are just plain sin. [Proverbs 21:4 (MSG)]

Pride lands you flat on your face; humility prepares you for honors. [Proverbs 29:23 (MSG)]

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May 10, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Obedience, Sharing Our Faith, Thanks & Praise

A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

And the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. [Numbers 11:4b-5 (NLT)]

balloon over serengettiIt’s a matter of perspective. When in Egypt, the Israelites hated being slaves to their cruel masters yet, every time they faced danger or difficulty, they longed to return there. This past March, my Florida friends wore gloves, jackets, and hats and complained of the cold when the temperature fell to 60 degrees. That same month, we were in the mountains of Colorado. When it got to 60 degrees there, off came the hats, gloves and jackets and people ate outside! Yesterday, my mother-in-law commented on the unseasonable heat in Illinois—it was 80 degrees! On the other hand, when it only got to 80 here in Florida, the weatherman called it “unseasonably cool.” It’s a matter of perspective.

“I’m starving!” we say when it’s been several hours since last eating, yet one in nine people suffer from chronic undernourishment. Truly starving, they may not even remember when last they ate anything. We complain about waiting thirty minutes in the physician’s waiting room, yet more than 1 billion people around the world have no access to health care. They’d gladly sit there for days if it meant getting medical attention. Weighing less than 93-pounds and standing less than 58-inches, my healthy and active 12-year old grand is called “small” for his age. In Africa or Asia, where nearly 51 million children are stunted in growth, he’d be the big kid in his class. Our well will be chlorinated this month and we’re annoyed about not having any water for several hours. A day’s inconvenience every few years sounds wonderful to those 663 million people have no access at all to safe drinking water. We women complain about the long lines in public restrooms yet one in three people lack access to any toilet, let alone the ten stalls at the theater! It’s just a matter of perspective.

A website called the Global Rich List puts one’s financial wealth in perspective. For example, here in the US, if you earned the median income of $51,939, you are in the top .28% of global wealth (note that decimal point)! While you’re not likely to see your name in Forbes magazine, that makes you the 16,839,173rd richest person on earth! Indeed, it is all a matter of perspective and, sometimes, we lose ours completely!

Father, forgive us when we look at life merely from our viewpoint—when we only notice or care about what directly touches our lives. Give us a global perspective so that we see the world from your viewpoint, not ours. Help us remember that the Good News is more than just your good word; it is also our good works! We have a world in need of both your message and our compassion. You have a world-sized role of each one of us—show us what you want us to do and how you want us to do it.

When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed. [Mother Teresa]

This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace. [Colossians 1:6 (NLT)]

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. [Isaiah 1:17 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2016 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
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February 18, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Money & Wealth, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Today: Make it Count

TIME’S AWASTING

Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. [Romans 14:12 (NLT)]

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. [Ephesians 5:15-17 (NLT)]

Lately, we’ve heard several politicians talk about equalizing wealth. There is, however, one precious asset that is the same for both pauper and billionaire. It can’t be bought or sold nor can it be saved for a rainy day. Unlike money, once it is lost, it can never be regained. That asset, of course, is time and it is God’s gift to us. He’s given each of us a precise (but unknown) number of hours and they are not to be wasted. Any minute we don’t use is forfeited and never seen again.IMG_1923web4

As of today, we’ve had over 275 inches of snow in this mountain valley and dealing with all that snow uses several of those minutes each day. Every time we want to go anywhere, we have to allow an extra five to ten minutes to scrape the windshield and clean off the car. Snow can pile up, as evidenced by a car belonging to one of our neighbors. That snow makes for a whole lot of weight on one car’s roof and, as it compresses, it turns to ice. Maybe our neighbor plans on waiting until spring for the snow to melt. Spring, however, is a long ways away and, with an average snowfall of 352 inches, we can expect plenty more snow in the weeks to come. At this rate, chances are the car roof could collapse long before the crocuses peek through the snow.

When we don’t use our time wisely, things stack up just like the snow on that car. Life gets overwhelming when we put off until tomorrow what needs to be done today. Tomorrow comes, the task has grown, so we put it off for another day, and so it goes until life comes crashing in on us. We procrastinate for many reasons—exhaustion, fear, obsession with perfection, anger, indecision, lack of motivation, or simple laziness. Sometimes we even convince ourselves that we’re saving time by not doing something. Sure, the car’s owner hasn’t spent several minutes removing snow each morning but taking the bus around town takes much longer. If and when he tries to clean the car, it will take him hours to chip off the accumulated snow and ice. Moreover, if the roof collapses, he won’t have a car at all! Whatever the cause for our procrastination, the work we’re avoiding won’t disappear. In fact, in most cases, like the snow on the car, it will just pile higher and higher.

When we get diverted from the task at hand and waste God’s time, the enemy loves it. He’s provided us with all sorts of new ways to do it with binge watching on Netflix, computer games, email, Xboxes, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat and the like. In fact, there are several websites that will link you to the best sites for wasting time! When I look at some of hyperlinks and humor emailed to me, I wonder if anybody still works. We each have been given the same twenty-four hours this day, how will we spend it? Paul tells us in Romans that we will be accountable to God for the way we have used his gifts and those hours are one of God’s most precious gifts to us.

Time is like manna from heaven. God provides exactly what we need for each day and, like manna, what isn’t used today is gone tomorrow. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we have been gifted with 1440 minutes today. Will we tend to the business of the day or will we let things pile up until some future date? God willing, we will be blessed with 24 more hours tomorrow but, then again, maybe we won’t.

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die leaving undone. [Pablo Picasso]

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. [Benjamin Franklin] 

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. [Psalm 90:12 (NLT)]

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. [James 4:13-14 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2016 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
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January 27, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Temptation & Sin

BRAGGING RIGHTS

Beware of doing your good deeds conspicuously to catch men’s eyes or you will miss the reward of your Heavenly Father. So, when you do good to other people, don’t hire a trumpeter to go in front of you—like those play-actors in the synagogues and streets who make sure that men admire them. Believe me, they have had all the reward they are going to get! No, when you give to charity, don’t even let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be secret. Your Father who knows all secrets will reward you. [Matthew 6:1-4 (PHILIPS)]

snowy egret and tri-colored heronA recent “Close to Home” comic, by John McPherson, certainly hit close to home for me. While the wife stretches in preparation for a run, her husband is strapping a Fitbit to the dog’s legs in readiness for some Frisbee tossing. The caption read: “Determined to put 100 miles on the Fitbit before his wife did, Stu got a little help from Pepper.” Having no dog, I’ve never cheated at my step count, but I do want full credit for every step I do take. Once, after having taken over 15,000 steps, my Fitbit died before the steps were logged onto my phone. When a new battery brought the device back to life, my step count was at zero. I was visibly upset because just my knowing how much I’d walked wasn’t enough. I wanted official web recognition for those miles because I wanted bragging rights—I wanted my husband and the rest of my Fitbit friends to be impressed.

I think of a friend who told me she was getting active in a variety of good causes so that her obituary would be long and impressive. Even dead and gone, she wanted bragging rights. Sometimes, we want bragging rights in our faith. Our faith journey, however, is not a competition to see who can pray the longest, knows the most Bible verses, volunteers for the most committees, gives the most money, or has the loudest “Hallelujah!”

In Matthew 6, Jesus warned his disciples about seeking a good reputation through outward showmanship. Their new life was not to be about impressing people but rather about having a relationship with God. Good acts done for personal glory are hypocrisy. When our giving, serving and conversation is led by the desire to impress others with our Christian behavior, we become the hypocrites Jesus described. When we strive to be perceived as more pious, generous, faithful, or loving than others, we become self-seekers, not God seekers. While scripture tells us to serve the Lord with gladness, it never tells us to serve him with fanfare. No matter how good the cause or worthy the work, bragging rights or boosting our worth in the eyes of others should never be our motivation for what we do.

Granted, we should be good examples but there are only two who need to know how much we believe, give, pray or serve: God and ourselves! Life is not about having a long impressive obituary—it is about living the life God intended for us in the way He wants it lived. When my Fitbit cheats me of steps, it really doesn’t matter because I know how much I’ve walked and that’s all that counts. When I serve the Lord, no matter in what the capacity, God already knows and no one else needs to know. His approval is the only approval any of us should seek.

And then, when you pray, don’t be like the play-actors. They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at street-corners so that people may see them at it. Believe me, they have had all the reward they are going to get. But when you pray, go into your own room, shut your door and pray to your Father privately. Your Father who sees all private things will reward you. … Then, when you fast, don’t look like those miserable play-actors! For they deliberately disfigure their faces so that people may see that they are fasting. Believe me, they have had all their reward. No, when you fast, brush your hair and wash your face so that nobody knows that you are fasting—let it be a secret between you and your Father. And your Father who knows all secrets will reward you. [Matthew 6:5-6,16-18 (PHILIPS)]

 

 

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January 12, 2016

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Attitudes & Behavior, Joy, Money & Wealth, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

THE DOG SWEATER

dog outfit
Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (MSG)]

While taking photos in the park before church, I stopped to take a picture of a costumed dog. Personally, I think God blessed animals with fur so they wouldn’t have to wear clothes but the dog’s photo would make a cute addition to the church website. The dog’s person complained that Fluffy’s Christmas outfit had not yet arrived from Amazon. The following week, I came upon the same woman and her dog was now wearing a holiday ensemble. While I took the dog’s picture, Fluffy’s person lamented that the poor thing had to wear last year’s sweater with her new accessories. Apparently the pup had enjoyed a few too many treats over the year and the new sweater was too small. I wanted to tell her how thankful she should be to have a dog, let alone be able to feed and dress it, when some people can’t afford to feed and clothe their children. Fortunately, the Holy Spirit put his hand over my mouth and I realized that the dog probably fills a very empty place in her life.

I remembered that encounter as I ever so self-righteously began this devotion about giving thanks. The Holy Spirit, however, suggested I examine my own behavior before pointing fingers or casting stones at this woman. Granted, we probably don’t stress about dressing our dogs in seasonal attire but something tells me we’re really not that different. Like her, most of us are probably nowhere near as thankful about our blessings as we should be. How often do we compare what we have with what we want? We have a new coat, but now we want a scarf, new boots and gloves to go with it. We have a perfectly good house, but now we want to redecorate, remodel or even get a bigger one. We have a spouse, but we want him or her to be thinner, tidier, richer, or not to snore. We have a good job, but we want one that pays better, has shorter hours, a nicer boss, or longer vacations. We have a car, but now we want a newer sportier model or a second (or even third) one. We have healthy children, but they’re not the perfectly-behaved gifted athletic ones we’d planned on getting.

We all want what we don’t have, often while failing to appreciate what it is that we do have. Consider those people who have neither coat to wear nor roof over their heads. What of the widowed who would welcome an opportunity to pick up after a spouse or hear him snore again, the man who got a pink slip with his pay check last week, the woman who takes two busses to work or the grocery store, or the couples who struggle with infertility? They’d be thrilled to take what we are so anxious to find fault with, change or discard. There’s nothing wrong with aspiring to improve our lives but, when we compare what we have to what we want, we’re bound to become dissatisfied. Perhaps, we should start comparing what we have to what it is we actually deserve. I know my blessings far outweigh anything I’ve ever done to deserve them. When I compare what I have to what I deserve, I’m filled with gratitude and joy.

Here’s something to consider: what if everything with which we found fault today disappeared tomorrow? Moreover, what if we woke up tomorrow with only the things for which we thanked God today?

Father, forgive us when we find fault where we should find gratitude and when we offer complaint instead of praise. Forgive our blindness to the blessings right in front of us. Give us thankful hearts and generous spirits. Thank you, dear Lord, for your limitless love and for not giving us what we deserve.

Oh, thank God—he’s so good! His love never runs out. … Good people see this and are glad; bad people are speechless, stopped in their tracks. If you are really wise, you’ll think this over—it’s time you appreciated God’s deep love.  [Psalm 107:1,42-43 (MSG)]