Tag: Money

Write It On My Heart

BEYOND LUXURY

LUXURY,  NICE THINGS, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, HIGH CLASS, UPSCALE, FASHIONABLE, RICH, …

I grew up in an ecclesiastical culture where money was not glorified.  Even as a teenager I was puzzled as to why we didn’t have what other kids had; big homes, etc., etc.  A few years of my childhood we lived with my grandpa.  He was rich, but no one knew it. My dad was an evangelist and most of the time, pastored a church.  It seemed as though we were “pore” as Job’s turkey.  Grandpa gave my folks money from time to time, but my mom and dad gave it to the church.

When in college I yearned for nice things and I worked my way through by singing/entertaining, meeting people with unbelievable wealth; met and stayed in the home of the largest school bus manufacturer in America, sang at Winston Rockefeller’s ranch, R. G. LeTourneau (inventor and builder of huge earth-moving machines), and met old Sam Walton.  I wanted to “be somebody.” In recent years I’ve stayed in the homes of the internationally famous – wealth beyond what the mind can conceive.

SO WHAT!!!

“‘Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.’” (Luke‬ ‭9:58‬) If Jesus was poor, why did he say so much about money and the things money can buy?  In fact, there are more than 2,000 places in the Bible where money and stuff-stuff is mentioned.  A rich kid came to Jesus and asked him what he should do to be saved. Jesus told him to sell his stuff. “Ooooooh nonono!”

You see, Jesus is challenging us the get our PRIORITIES straight!

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (esv)

Write It On My Heart

DOES JESUS CARE?

MILLIONS IN THIS COUNTRY ARE ONE PAYCHECK AWAY FROM HOMELESSNESS! JEWEL, the well-known singer, was essentially homeless and living out of her car in San Diego. I heard her say, “I had the privilege of being stripped of everything except my thoughts.” You may have been there.  I was! Those around me were confused. “Friends” didn’t know if it was permissible to remain my friend. Two kids. No money. Misunderstood. Heartbroken. Two inches away from homelessness. Turned down for unemployment. No one … no one to help!  THEN JESUS CAME in a new way. He had always been there in my heart, but I had also received a weekly salary – not much, but at least it kept the wolf away from the door. I had a few dollars for cereal and wieners.  Not enough for rent.

In the fog of my confusion, stripped of everything, JESUS CAME!  Oh, I knew him as my Savior, but who’s gonna feed my kids … right now?! Will the three of us be sleeping on the street after having been the pastor of a growing church?

“You are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.”
Isaiah 64:8 (nlt)

Laughed out of a 7-Eleven. Not answered by a messenger service. Rejected as a hotel clerk. No experience as a waiter. Another church looked upon me with skepticism when I applied as an assistant. Frantic, looking for a job … any job. Nothing! Stripped of everything – except my dignity. Yes, Jesus saves, but he also cares. Three weeks later I was hired as the executive assistant to a man who was worth multiplied millions. He paid me well.

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:19 (nlt)   🎼🎶
“Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?
“Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.”
(Frank E. Graeff)