"Why don't you come to me first.."
Posted by Nie Cristal on Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Under: faith
Today's devotion: James 4:2-3
"You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
When I read this portion this morning, what I could vision in my mind was those people who keep complaining about their difficult lives and sufferings.
Having been spending time listening to some close adults, what they always say is: "When you start working, then you will know the importance of money. You will slowly understand why we have to seek money first."
Maybe yes, I'm still young and haven't tasted the life of working and finding a living. However, I have witnessed adults who spend their lives serving in God's Kingdom yet hardly complain about hardship in life.
Some people view Christianity as a religion that teaches good things, and that's it. They think even if they have learned these good values, life still needs to go on, and for this they need money; not good values.
God doesn't say that needing money is wrong. But thinking that with money we can do everything, is really wrong. Someone always asks me is it enough to just pray everyday without working, and wait for God to feed me. Like the saying goes, "do your part, and God will do His part".
Then, do we actually know what does 'our part' refers to? Does it mean finding our ways to obtain more income, get a better job, strive to be the best at all time in this competitive world? Well, yes these are parts of it, but not all it is about. The Bible gives a very clear answer to this question - both our part and God's part:
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." ~ Matthew 6:33
Leading back to the verse of today's devotion, when we ask, God expects us to ask for the needs in His kingdom, not our personal needs. Because He has promised us, that our part is to seek for His kingdom and His righteousness, and His part is to provide us all our essential needs. He already tells us that He WILL provide for all that we essentially need, and we do not have to ask for it anymore. Many people think that seeking God's kingdom means becoming a pastor or a minister in God's ministry. Well, yes these are few ways to serve in God's kingdom, but it is more than just all these. God simply wants you to love Him and love people around you (Matthew 22:37-40).
I realize the reason that people seek for money in life is to live as long as they can. They forget one truth, that God is the only one who can give and take away life. That's why the Bible says, "..You do not have, because you do not ask God" (James 4:2b). Instead of turning to God, we like to turn to money and all the worldly things to help us 'extend' our lifespan.
God allows us to stay here on earth, but just to stay, not to live. Because our ultimate home is in Heaven, not here on earth. We always are very afraid of dying. In our minds, the death of our body means the end of life. But people, you are all about your souls, not your bodies. Be clear of this. Our bodies now are just the containers to keep our souls, because to stay in this visible world, we need to have a visible body, too. And God is preparing us to receive an eternal life in Heaven by sending His Son Jesus Christ. Unless we choose to receive eternal death.
You may think death is just once, then it's over. But actually there's no such thing as 'death'. 'Death' simply means the absence of life. In Hell, we get to experience death again and again. That's why we called that eternal death. And in Heaven, there is life forever. That is where God our Father wants us to spend our eternity: not in the world, not in Hell.
Brothers and sisters, take this short while to think again about the things that you are seeking in life. Do you really think God cannot provide you with all that you need if you really spend your life the way He wants you to - by loving Him and people around you? Then I assured you, God can. Don't make Him wait for us for so long to understand the truth and then turn to Him. The time is near. Let's together live our lives right.
God bless..
"You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
When I read this portion this morning, what I could vision in my mind was those people who keep complaining about their difficult lives and sufferings.
Having been spending time listening to some close adults, what they always say is: "When you start working, then you will know the importance of money. You will slowly understand why we have to seek money first."
Maybe yes, I'm still young and haven't tasted the life of working and finding a living. However, I have witnessed adults who spend their lives serving in God's Kingdom yet hardly complain about hardship in life.
Some people view Christianity as a religion that teaches good things, and that's it. They think even if they have learned these good values, life still needs to go on, and for this they need money; not good values.
God doesn't say that needing money is wrong. But thinking that with money we can do everything, is really wrong. Someone always asks me is it enough to just pray everyday without working, and wait for God to feed me. Like the saying goes, "do your part, and God will do His part".
Then, do we actually know what does 'our part' refers to? Does it mean finding our ways to obtain more income, get a better job, strive to be the best at all time in this competitive world? Well, yes these are parts of it, but not all it is about. The Bible gives a very clear answer to this question - both our part and God's part:
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." ~ Matthew 6:33
Leading back to the verse of today's devotion, when we ask, God expects us to ask for the needs in His kingdom, not our personal needs. Because He has promised us, that our part is to seek for His kingdom and His righteousness, and His part is to provide us all our essential needs. He already tells us that He WILL provide for all that we essentially need, and we do not have to ask for it anymore. Many people think that seeking God's kingdom means becoming a pastor or a minister in God's ministry. Well, yes these are few ways to serve in God's kingdom, but it is more than just all these. God simply wants you to love Him and love people around you (Matthew 22:37-40).
I realize the reason that people seek for money in life is to live as long as they can. They forget one truth, that God is the only one who can give and take away life. That's why the Bible says, "..You do not have, because you do not ask God" (James 4:2b). Instead of turning to God, we like to turn to money and all the worldly things to help us 'extend' our lifespan.
God allows us to stay here on earth, but just to stay, not to live. Because our ultimate home is in Heaven, not here on earth. We always are very afraid of dying. In our minds, the death of our body means the end of life. But people, you are all about your souls, not your bodies. Be clear of this. Our bodies now are just the containers to keep our souls, because to stay in this visible world, we need to have a visible body, too. And God is preparing us to receive an eternal life in Heaven by sending His Son Jesus Christ. Unless we choose to receive eternal death.
You may think death is just once, then it's over. But actually there's no such thing as 'death'. 'Death' simply means the absence of life. In Hell, we get to experience death again and again. That's why we called that eternal death. And in Heaven, there is life forever. That is where God our Father wants us to spend our eternity: not in the world, not in Hell.
Brothers and sisters, take this short while to think again about the things that you are seeking in life. Do you really think God cannot provide you with all that you need if you really spend your life the way He wants you to - by loving Him and people around you? Then I assured you, God can. Don't make Him wait for us for so long to understand the truth and then turn to Him. The time is near. Let's together live our lives right.
God bless..
In : faith
Tags: love "our god provides"
