Inspiration, Encouragement, Challenge

All of us need to hang on to a group of friends who will inspire, encourage and challenge us to greater accomplishments for God's kingdom causes.  That's why we all desperately need to be part of a local body of believers where God's Word is taught and His Son is worshipped.  Today's churches can trace their heritage back to the ancient body of Christ and heroes of the faith as seen through the eyes of the writer of the Hebrews.

As children of God, we are prised, chosen by Him to reign at His side. Yet, beautiful and beloved as we are, we go right on living in drudgery as citizens of a second-class country, forfeiting heavenly treasures by clinging to earthly ones.

At death, a Christian doesn't leave home.  We go home.

We are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. - 2 Corinthians 5:8

Consider the paradox - our true home is a place we've never been!

C. S. Lewis captured this idea perfectly with one of his memorable metaphors. Let me quote from his book The Problem of Pain:

“The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”

30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge

A Christian Thought for the Day

Encouraging Bible Verses

Two eternal judgments

The Bible teaches two eternal judgments, one for unbelievers and one for believers.  All believers will enter into new life because of their faith in Christ.  All unbelievers will fail the judgment of their faith in Christ since their names are not written in the Book of Life. 

Scripture repeatedly states that all will be judged for their works.

Scripture teaches with unmistakable clarity that all believers in Christ will give an account of their lives to their Lord.  We will be judged by Him according to our works, both good and bad. The result of this will be the gain or loss of eternal rewards.

Scripture presents it as a monumental event in which things of eternal significance are brought to light and things of eternal consequence are put into effect.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of[a]witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us - Hebrews 12:1

God wants us to have eternal rewards - and He has given us every resource in Christ to live the godly life that will result in those eternal rewards.





What Does the Bible Say About Eternal Judgment?

Eternal Judgment

44 Bible Verses about Eternal Judgment

God’s Righteous Judgment

Two Judgments

Two Masters

God's eternal prospectus bears a careful look in light of its guaranteed rate of interest.  Jesus promises an ultimate return of a hundred times - a 10,000 percent rate of interest that lasts forever.  What earthly investment compares to that?

Based on Christ's words, let's assume the role of 'eternal financial counselor' and offer some advice -- choose your investments carefully, compare rates of interest, and evaluate how your investments will be working for you a few million years from now.

I might have two jobs, three sisters or five friends, but only one spouse.  Some relationships by their very nature are exclusive.  The most basic of these is our relationship with God.  There's a throne in each life only big enough for one. Christ may be on that throne.  Money may be on that throne.  But both cannot occupy that throne.

Matthew 6:24

Luke 16:13

Serving Two Masters

100 Bible Verses about Serving Two Masters

Prosperity: Promised

The most popular NT proof text for prosperity theology comes on the heels of Christ's disciples pointing out that they had left everything behind to follow Him --

“Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. - Mark 10: 29-30

 After acknowledging his lack of health and wealth, Paul demonstrated the real meaning of this verse by describing it this way --

Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. 2 Corinthians 6:10

Have you ever heard a prosperity message that refers to the idea that with all of this stuff - comes persecution?

This is not suggesting that there is no NT promise of blessing applied in a literal, material way --

Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” - Luke 6:38

Both Scripture and experience demonstrate God's frequent material blessing upon those who generously share what He has entrusted to them.






John Piper ~ Prosperity Gospel

Ten Bible Verses Prosperity Gospel Preachers Need to Stop Misusing

DOES GOD PROMISE BELIEVERS FINANCIAL PROSPERITY?

Materialism: Proud and thankless

The Bible is full of references proving that our tendency in prosperity is to believe we deserve the credit for what we have and to grow proud and thankless.  Paul asks the prideful Christians of Corinth --

For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift? - 1 Corinthians 4:7

Paul tells Timothy --

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. - 1 Timothy 6:17

 After all, God is the one who has given us our intellect, our abilities and our capacity to earn money.

Paul reminded the proud Corinthians that the Church is made up of the dregs of this world.  Elitism boosts our egos by making us think we are somehow more worthy than others.  Few things are more repugnant to the Lord than the rich despising the poor.  Yet our clubs and social circles, sometimes even our churches, foster this very attitude.






Recognizing Materialism, and Understanding its Dangers

10 ways materialism brings us to ruin

The Thankless Persuasion

Pope Francis in South Korea: Anti-materialism message a tough sell for pope

Materialism and Ecclesiastes

The book of Ecclesiastes is the most powerful report of materialism ever written. Solomon recounts his attempts to find meaning in pleasure, laughter, alcohol, folly, building projects, and the pursuit of personal interests, as well as in amassing slaves, gold and silver, singers, and a huge harem to fulfil his sexual desires.  He achieved the ultimate in material success and international fame living by this philosophy --

Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. Ecclesiastes 2:10

The more Solomon had , the more he was tempted to indulge --

Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!

People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.

There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. Ecclesiastes 5:10 - 15

Life Frame

5 Things the Bible Says About Materialism in Ecclesiastes

Solomon Tried Materialism

45 Bible Verses about Materialism

Ecclesiastes 3

Money: 2,350 verses in the Bible

“He who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Jesus Christ said more about money than about any other single thing because, when it comes to a man's real nature, money is of first importance. Money is an exact index to a man's true character. All through Scripture there is an intimate correlation between the development of a man's character and how he handles his money. Richard C. Halverson

How could the Bible's Author and Editor justify devoting twice as many verses to money than to faith and prayer combined?

Reading Reports - 2350 Verses in the Bible on Money

2350 verses on money!

MONEY & POSSESSION SCRIPTURES

Is money is the primary topic addressed in the Bible?

2,350 verses contents

The Bible Talks More About Money Than Hell

Godsway Financial Reference Guide

Bible Verses About Money: What Does The Bible Have To Say About Our Financial Lives?

Money Matters