Luke 18:14b - "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
John 8:31-32 - "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"
Luke 19:26-27 - "[Jesus] replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, bu as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and kill them in front of me.'"
Matthew 25:37-40,45 - "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' ... 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"
John 12:25-26 - "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."
John 13:16 - "I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him."
John 14:6 - "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"
John 14:12-21 - "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will se me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
John 14:26-27 - "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
John 15:1-17 - "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does not bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, s have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you that so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that h lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I choose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other."
John 15:18-19 - "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."
John 16:26-27 - "In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God."
Jesus was crucified on April 3, AD 30. He died around 3 o'clock in the afternoon. (according to my chronological Bible's footnotes)
John 20:21-23 - "Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.'"
Matthew 28:19-20 - "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Acts 2:38 - "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"
Acts 3:19-20 - "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus."
Random dates and a whole lot of good Scripture, of course, as always, this is just what I picked out as important and probably worth memorizing. To get all the story, read the gospels! I know I have! ;)
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Personal: New Years Resolutions
Two sets of five objectives. The first set is the Radical challenge outlined at the end of Radical by David Platt. The second set is personal goals of sin to get rid of and spiritual growth to do.
Set One: The Radical Challenge
1. Pray for the entire world
Get a list (from Monica Skinner) of all the countries of the world and pray for every single one of them, and not impersonal prayers, look up current events for the country and pray for specific things that they are dealing with.
2. Read through the ENTIRE Word
Read the bible, cover to cover, in one year (at least once). I plan on accomplishing this by reading my Chronological Bible in a Year. By the end of this year I will have (ideally) read through the entire New Testament already.
3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
Parents and friends will not understand or endorse this one, but it is what we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are called to do. It is why God blessed me with lots of nice things and a place to live and freedom of religion and tons of money, it is to give it to those in need to make His glory known in all the world. (Read Radical Ch. 6)
4. Spend your time in another context
Same as last with understanding. I plan on spending my entire summer in either Miami or Asia on Summer Project with Campus Crusade for Christ.
5. Commit your life to a multiplying community
Commit your life to the Church. Yes, I did say THE CHURCH, not a church. If you do not understand, go to www.100Xchurch.com and watch the first four sermons on un-learning church. Anyway, I take this in the context of the phrase Summit Crossing is so fond of "doing life together". Get in a group of believers and serve the community, grow spiritually, and be accountable to each other.
Set two: Personal Self-Growth
1. Beat Lust in my life, completely and forthright.
This is a personal matter, it includes what most of you can guess, but to me it is more than just the obvious. This includes sexual-referencing jokes (especially "thats what she said"), making sure that my eyes are on girls eyes and not elsewhere, and yes, no masturbation (yes, I did just say that).
2. Stop using profanity, totally
This is a staged process that will begin with the big and obvious profanities and work its way down to words like "suck" (in the context of "such and such sucks") and idiot and stupid.
3. Stop judging others
This is one that I would dare say that every single human being struggles with (if you are perfect at this, props, seriously). Whether this is out loud or in your mind, judging others is a sin. It stems from Jesus' second most important commandment "love your neighbor".
4. Stop gossiping
A whole lot of people struggle with this one too, and yes, it does really fall under the last one, but it is different in my mind, so needs a separate one. This is not only an internal thing, it is an external thing. Not only do I not want to talk about anyone behind their back in either positive or negative light, I also do not want to be caught listening to someone else talk about someone else behind their back. So, I will be calling a lot of people out if you try, you have been warned.
5. Memorize AT LEAST 20 passages of the Bible
Whether this is one or two verses, like my favorite Proverbs 3:5-6 or 19 verses, like John 15:1-19, I want to have 20 solid, foundational Bible verses memorized for reference at will. This will help with all of the other goals, because "hiding His Word in our heart" is something that we are supposed to do, certainly not for God's sake, He wrote the Bible, but for our sake, to help us stay on that straight and narrow path.
Yes, I realize that these goals are very lofty, and I also acknowledge that I may not be able to accomplish all of them in a month or even in a year, but they are good life goals to strive toward, period. This is my Radical challenge to myself and I pray that you will be encouraged by this. I pray that you will support me in this endeavor and not halter me. I pray that you will forgive me and intercede for me when I fail at this. I pray that you will bear with me and forgive me when I call you out on profane jokes, profanity, gossiping, and judging others. I pray that you will call me out on these things so that I can know when it happens and immediately go to the Lord in prayer about it. But pray, just always pray.
Set One: The Radical Challenge
1. Pray for the entire world
Get a list (from Monica Skinner) of all the countries of the world and pray for every single one of them, and not impersonal prayers, look up current events for the country and pray for specific things that they are dealing with.
2. Read through the ENTIRE Word
Read the bible, cover to cover, in one year (at least once). I plan on accomplishing this by reading my Chronological Bible in a Year. By the end of this year I will have (ideally) read through the entire New Testament already.
3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose
Parents and friends will not understand or endorse this one, but it is what we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are called to do. It is why God blessed me with lots of nice things and a place to live and freedom of religion and tons of money, it is to give it to those in need to make His glory known in all the world. (Read Radical Ch. 6)
4. Spend your time in another context
Same as last with understanding. I plan on spending my entire summer in either Miami or Asia on Summer Project with Campus Crusade for Christ.
5. Commit your life to a multiplying community
Commit your life to the Church. Yes, I did say THE CHURCH, not a church. If you do not understand, go to www.100Xchurch.com and watch the first four sermons on un-learning church. Anyway, I take this in the context of the phrase Summit Crossing is so fond of "doing life together". Get in a group of believers and serve the community, grow spiritually, and be accountable to each other.
Set two: Personal Self-Growth
1. Beat Lust in my life, completely and forthright.
This is a personal matter, it includes what most of you can guess, but to me it is more than just the obvious. This includes sexual-referencing jokes (especially "thats what she said"), making sure that my eyes are on girls eyes and not elsewhere, and yes, no masturbation (yes, I did just say that).
2. Stop using profanity, totally
This is a staged process that will begin with the big and obvious profanities and work its way down to words like "suck" (in the context of "such and such sucks") and idiot and stupid.
3. Stop judging others
This is one that I would dare say that every single human being struggles with (if you are perfect at this, props, seriously). Whether this is out loud or in your mind, judging others is a sin. It stems from Jesus' second most important commandment "love your neighbor".
4. Stop gossiping
A whole lot of people struggle with this one too, and yes, it does really fall under the last one, but it is different in my mind, so needs a separate one. This is not only an internal thing, it is an external thing. Not only do I not want to talk about anyone behind their back in either positive or negative light, I also do not want to be caught listening to someone else talk about someone else behind their back. So, I will be calling a lot of people out if you try, you have been warned.
5. Memorize AT LEAST 20 passages of the Bible
Whether this is one or two verses, like my favorite Proverbs 3:5-6 or 19 verses, like John 15:1-19, I want to have 20 solid, foundational Bible verses memorized for reference at will. This will help with all of the other goals, because "hiding His Word in our heart" is something that we are supposed to do, certainly not for God's sake, He wrote the Bible, but for our sake, to help us stay on that straight and narrow path.
Yes, I realize that these goals are very lofty, and I also acknowledge that I may not be able to accomplish all of them in a month or even in a year, but they are good life goals to strive toward, period. This is my Radical challenge to myself and I pray that you will be encouraged by this. I pray that you will support me in this endeavor and not halter me. I pray that you will forgive me and intercede for me when I fail at this. I pray that you will bear with me and forgive me when I call you out on profane jokes, profanity, gossiping, and judging others. I pray that you will call me out on these things so that I can know when it happens and immediately go to the Lord in prayer about it. But pray, just always pray.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Love Your Neighbor (Radical Chapter 6)
This is going to be a very long blog that is going to make a lot of people angry, but I take no remorse in these words. God broke my heart for this last night as I sat in tears reading this chapter to the very end. I do not claim to know everything about the following subjects or even to have them figured out completely in my life, but I know that my heart is now in the right place for this and if I do not get this off my chest I might explode.
"How much is enough?" American wealth and a world of poverty - Radical Chapter 6
A huge blind spot in many American's faith is a heart for the poor. As we live in unimaginable luxury here in America, we choose to ignore the ones around us who are starving and dying every day. Over 1 Billion people in this world live on the equivalent of less than a dollar a day. Over 2 Billion Others live on less than two dollars per day. This over 3 Billion people make up nearly half of the world's population. "More than twenty-six thousand children today will breath their last breath due to starvation or a preventable disease." What if one of those children was your child? Really put yourself in their place, these children have parents who literally have no means of providing for themselves or their children, and they can do nothing to stop their children from dying right their in their arms. So, I will ask it again, what if that was your child? If you don't have a child, what if that were your best friend, girlfriend, mom, dad, uncle, brother, or sister? These people are dying all over the world, and what is perhaps even more heartbreaking than that, is that they are all dying and going to Hell because almost none of them have ever had the opportunity to hear of the Gospel. And here we sit, most of us, doing nothing to help them. In regards to that, Platt says "But they do exist. Not only do they exist, but God takes very seriously how I respond to them. The book of Proverbs warns about curses that come upon those who ignore the poor. The prophets warn of God's judgment and devastation for those who neglect the poor. Jesus pronounces woes upon the wealthy who trust in their riches, and James tells those who hoard their money and live in self-indulgence to 'weep and wail because of the misery that is coming' upon them. In a humbling passage, Jesus says to those who turn away from him by ignoring the physical needs of his people, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" "The means of our salvation is faith in Christ alone, and the basis of our salvation is the work of Christ alone." "But the reality is, if you and I have running water, shelter over our heads, clothes to wear, food to eat, and some means of transportation (even if it's public transportation), then we are in the top 15 percent of the world's people for wealth." This does not include having money for luxuries like spare clothes, expensive meals, cars, cameras, video games, televisions, jewelry, computers, internet, cable, telephones, cell phones, books, electricity, the list goes on. Just by having running water, any kind of shelter over our heads, even if that is just a trailer or a tent, clothes to wear, even if they do not fit and have holes in them, and some way of getting around, even taking the bus, we are more wealthy than 85% of the world's population. How misplaced are the funds of the American Christian community? Platt tells a heart-breaking story to put it into perspective "One evening I was meeting with an underground house church overseas, and we were discussing various issues in Scripture. A woman who lived in the city and knew some English shared. 'I have a television, and every once in a while I am able to get stations from the United States,' she said. 'Some of these stations have church services on them. I see the preachers, and they are dressed in very nice clothes, and they are preaching in very nice buildings. Some of them even tell me that if I have faith, I too can have nice things.' She paused before continuing. 'When I come to our church meetings, I look around, and most of us are very poor, and we are meeting here at great risk to our lives.' Then she looked at me and asked, 'Does this mean we do not have enough faith?'" Hmm, this goes back to another chapter where Platt tells of how little many Americans appreciate their ability to meet about God freely and in public. Anyway, he is saying here that we, as Americans, are "implicitly exporting a theology that equates faith in christ with prosperity in this world." That is just wrong. Before Jesus came and died for our sins, there was a reason for building elaborate temples, to make sacrifices to put off the sins of the people until Jesus came. God commanded them to build these temples occasionally. But nowhere in the New Testament will you see God or Jesus commanding their people to build elaborate temples or buildings of any kind to have worship, not directly or through one of the prophets. So, I have to ask, where have Americans gotten this idea that success in the church should be completely measured by how big of a building you have and how many people you can cram into that building on Sunday mornings? Thing I am talking nonsense? "Every year in the United States (alone), we spend more than $10 BILLION on church buildings. In America alone, the amount of real estate owned by institutional churches is worth OVER $230 BILLION." And this also breaks my heart and makes me ask the question: What if all that money had been spent on helping the poor and the sick and the starving and the thirsty and all those children and adults that are dying every day from starvation and preventable diseases? Is there anything wrong with just holding smaller church meetings in many more locations like public parks or people's houses? There is no law in America against meeting in public areas, or public parks even (to my knowledge). We have complete and total freedom of religion and how do we choose to spend all of the money that our communities of believers raise? On gigantic, elaborate buildings to meet in. Now let me make another thing clear here, I am not saying that there is anything inherently wrong with having a building to meet in for church on Sunday mornings. I am just saying that there is no reason to build these huge, overly elaborate buildings that, largely, only serve as meeting places. The only way I can see justifying having such a large building would be as a base of missions, that is, a storage facility for things like donated clothes and food that is then re-distributed by the church community to those who are in need of them. Or as a command center for getting the paperwork done to go out of country on missions and to adopt these children who are dying. And what about on a personal level? Are we all actually called to sell everything that we have and give it to the poor? No, God delights in pouring out blessings on his children, but He does it for the benefit of making His glory known in all nations, not for you to hoard the wealth you have been given for your own purposes. But the bigger question here is not whether or not we are told by Jesus to sell everything we have, it is whether or not we trust Jesus completely. Let me backtrack slightly to quote Platt again: "However, Jesus was not, and never is, interested in being seen as a respectable teacher. He is the sovereign Lord. He doesn't give options for people to consider; he gives commands for people to obey....Now, before you and I think of all the reasons he would not tell us to do these things, we need to think about this question first: is he Lord?...are we looking to Jesus for total leadership in our lives[?]...He always intends to be the voice that guides whatever decisions we make in our lives and with our money." Platt then tells a story about a man in his church, who, after hearing a sermon on the rich young ruler, began to sell everything he had, downsize, downgrade, and get down to the bare minimums. I will just skip to the end of the story, which brought me to tears last night "Then he looked at me through tears in his eyes and said, 'I wonder at some points if I'm being irresponsible or unwise. But then I realize there is never going to come a day when I stand before God and he looks at me and says, I wish you would have kept more for yourself. I'm confident that God will take care of me.'" If that doesn't just say it all and put it all into perspective. Jesus constantly teaches of how he takes care of those who are doing his work in the world. The gospels are filled with imagry of how God clothes and feeds wild animals and plants and how much more valuable are we to God than these? Therefore, how much more will God provide for us than for these plants? Jesus also states numerous times not to worry, about anything. Need more proof? Read 1 Timothy 6. And then ask yourself this question "am I willing to live a life that is content with food and clothing, having the basic necessities of my life provided for? Or do I want more?" Platt then uses the example of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church, to show what this means in a real world perspective. And it boils down to the previous question. If you make $160,000/year and you can pay your bills and put food on your table and keep a roof over your head with $20,000/year, give the other $140,000 to the poor, who need it far more than you do. And this is probably a far reach from how much most of us make, but it is just an example. I just pray that after reading this, you will take a long hard look at the way you are living. Take a look at the house you live in and ask yourself if that house is more house than you need. Look at your car(s) and ask yourself if that car is more than you need. Look at the food you are eating and ask yourself if you could survive on simpler and less expensive food. Look at the things that your house is filled with and ask yourself if you really need all of these things. And before you go out and buy something else that is just a luxury, something else that you do not actually need to live on, ask yourself how many poor starving children in other countries you could keep alive with that money. Children that are just as precious and dear to someone as that someone in your life that is so precious and dear to you. Because it all comes back to where you are storing up your riches. Are your riches here on earth, or are they in heaven? Do you want nice things and luxuries here on earth where they will last you no longer than your life span (around 100 years tops), or do you want nice things in heaven, where things never expire and all your luxuries will last for an eternity?
"How much is enough?" American wealth and a world of poverty - Radical Chapter 6
A huge blind spot in many American's faith is a heart for the poor. As we live in unimaginable luxury here in America, we choose to ignore the ones around us who are starving and dying every day. Over 1 Billion people in this world live on the equivalent of less than a dollar a day. Over 2 Billion Others live on less than two dollars per day. This over 3 Billion people make up nearly half of the world's population. "More than twenty-six thousand children today will breath their last breath due to starvation or a preventable disease." What if one of those children was your child? Really put yourself in their place, these children have parents who literally have no means of providing for themselves or their children, and they can do nothing to stop their children from dying right their in their arms. So, I will ask it again, what if that was your child? If you don't have a child, what if that were your best friend, girlfriend, mom, dad, uncle, brother, or sister? These people are dying all over the world, and what is perhaps even more heartbreaking than that, is that they are all dying and going to Hell because almost none of them have ever had the opportunity to hear of the Gospel. And here we sit, most of us, doing nothing to help them. In regards to that, Platt says "But they do exist. Not only do they exist, but God takes very seriously how I respond to them. The book of Proverbs warns about curses that come upon those who ignore the poor. The prophets warn of God's judgment and devastation for those who neglect the poor. Jesus pronounces woes upon the wealthy who trust in their riches, and James tells those who hoard their money and live in self-indulgence to 'weep and wail because of the misery that is coming' upon them. In a humbling passage, Jesus says to those who turn away from him by ignoring the physical needs of his people, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" "The means of our salvation is faith in Christ alone, and the basis of our salvation is the work of Christ alone." "But the reality is, if you and I have running water, shelter over our heads, clothes to wear, food to eat, and some means of transportation (even if it's public transportation), then we are in the top 15 percent of the world's people for wealth." This does not include having money for luxuries like spare clothes, expensive meals, cars, cameras, video games, televisions, jewelry, computers, internet, cable, telephones, cell phones, books, electricity, the list goes on. Just by having running water, any kind of shelter over our heads, even if that is just a trailer or a tent, clothes to wear, even if they do not fit and have holes in them, and some way of getting around, even taking the bus, we are more wealthy than 85% of the world's population. How misplaced are the funds of the American Christian community? Platt tells a heart-breaking story to put it into perspective "One evening I was meeting with an underground house church overseas, and we were discussing various issues in Scripture. A woman who lived in the city and knew some English shared. 'I have a television, and every once in a while I am able to get stations from the United States,' she said. 'Some of these stations have church services on them. I see the preachers, and they are dressed in very nice clothes, and they are preaching in very nice buildings. Some of them even tell me that if I have faith, I too can have nice things.' She paused before continuing. 'When I come to our church meetings, I look around, and most of us are very poor, and we are meeting here at great risk to our lives.' Then she looked at me and asked, 'Does this mean we do not have enough faith?'" Hmm, this goes back to another chapter where Platt tells of how little many Americans appreciate their ability to meet about God freely and in public. Anyway, he is saying here that we, as Americans, are "implicitly exporting a theology that equates faith in christ with prosperity in this world." That is just wrong. Before Jesus came and died for our sins, there was a reason for building elaborate temples, to make sacrifices to put off the sins of the people until Jesus came. God commanded them to build these temples occasionally. But nowhere in the New Testament will you see God or Jesus commanding their people to build elaborate temples or buildings of any kind to have worship, not directly or through one of the prophets. So, I have to ask, where have Americans gotten this idea that success in the church should be completely measured by how big of a building you have and how many people you can cram into that building on Sunday mornings? Thing I am talking nonsense? "Every year in the United States (alone), we spend more than $10 BILLION on church buildings. In America alone, the amount of real estate owned by institutional churches is worth OVER $230 BILLION." And this also breaks my heart and makes me ask the question: What if all that money had been spent on helping the poor and the sick and the starving and the thirsty and all those children and adults that are dying every day from starvation and preventable diseases? Is there anything wrong with just holding smaller church meetings in many more locations like public parks or people's houses? There is no law in America against meeting in public areas, or public parks even (to my knowledge). We have complete and total freedom of religion and how do we choose to spend all of the money that our communities of believers raise? On gigantic, elaborate buildings to meet in. Now let me make another thing clear here, I am not saying that there is anything inherently wrong with having a building to meet in for church on Sunday mornings. I am just saying that there is no reason to build these huge, overly elaborate buildings that, largely, only serve as meeting places. The only way I can see justifying having such a large building would be as a base of missions, that is, a storage facility for things like donated clothes and food that is then re-distributed by the church community to those who are in need of them. Or as a command center for getting the paperwork done to go out of country on missions and to adopt these children who are dying. And what about on a personal level? Are we all actually called to sell everything that we have and give it to the poor? No, God delights in pouring out blessings on his children, but He does it for the benefit of making His glory known in all nations, not for you to hoard the wealth you have been given for your own purposes. But the bigger question here is not whether or not we are told by Jesus to sell everything we have, it is whether or not we trust Jesus completely. Let me backtrack slightly to quote Platt again: "However, Jesus was not, and never is, interested in being seen as a respectable teacher. He is the sovereign Lord. He doesn't give options for people to consider; he gives commands for people to obey....Now, before you and I think of all the reasons he would not tell us to do these things, we need to think about this question first: is he Lord?...are we looking to Jesus for total leadership in our lives[?]...He always intends to be the voice that guides whatever decisions we make in our lives and with our money." Platt then tells a story about a man in his church, who, after hearing a sermon on the rich young ruler, began to sell everything he had, downsize, downgrade, and get down to the bare minimums. I will just skip to the end of the story, which brought me to tears last night "Then he looked at me through tears in his eyes and said, 'I wonder at some points if I'm being irresponsible or unwise. But then I realize there is never going to come a day when I stand before God and he looks at me and says, I wish you would have kept more for yourself. I'm confident that God will take care of me.'" If that doesn't just say it all and put it all into perspective. Jesus constantly teaches of how he takes care of those who are doing his work in the world. The gospels are filled with imagry of how God clothes and feeds wild animals and plants and how much more valuable are we to God than these? Therefore, how much more will God provide for us than for these plants? Jesus also states numerous times not to worry, about anything. Need more proof? Read 1 Timothy 6. And then ask yourself this question "am I willing to live a life that is content with food and clothing, having the basic necessities of my life provided for? Or do I want more?" Platt then uses the example of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church, to show what this means in a real world perspective. And it boils down to the previous question. If you make $160,000/year and you can pay your bills and put food on your table and keep a roof over your head with $20,000/year, give the other $140,000 to the poor, who need it far more than you do. And this is probably a far reach from how much most of us make, but it is just an example. I just pray that after reading this, you will take a long hard look at the way you are living. Take a look at the house you live in and ask yourself if that house is more house than you need. Look at your car(s) and ask yourself if that car is more than you need. Look at the food you are eating and ask yourself if you could survive on simpler and less expensive food. Look at the things that your house is filled with and ask yourself if you really need all of these things. And before you go out and buy something else that is just a luxury, something else that you do not actually need to live on, ask yourself how many poor starving children in other countries you could keep alive with that money. Children that are just as precious and dear to someone as that someone in your life that is so precious and dear to you. Because it all comes back to where you are storing up your riches. Are your riches here on earth, or are they in heaven? Do you want nice things and luxuries here on earth where they will last you no longer than your life span (around 100 years tops), or do you want nice things in heaven, where things never expire and all your luxuries will last for an eternity?
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