The Cares Of This World

I find it very scary how easy it is to be consumed by the cares of this world … deadlines, money, the opinions of others, ideas, the news, rumours ….

A couple of weeks back, my schedule was pretty open and it was easy to find time to read my Bible and listen to various teachings daily. During that time I was also praying for a source of extra income. A source of extra income knocked on my door – three different needs requiring the same skill. I took them all seeing that I had a lot of extra time on my hands. Before I knew it, I had deadlines creeping up on me, and time that would have been spent in prayer, reading the Bible, meditation, or listening to teachings, was edged out to make time to work.

Kinda sneaky … the thing that I had been asking God for has began to eat into my time with Him. Consequently, things are not as easy as they were in the beginning. There is a lot of uncertainty, tension, and fatigue. I don’t like it at all. Mark 4:18 seems to be turning into the story of my life.

Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”  

Mark 4:18-20 (NKJV)

My desire is to be the good soil, that hears the word, accepts it, and produces a crop – thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.

May I find it within me, to seek first the kingdom of God.

May I find it within me to so desire the things of God that I am always in the Word.

May I find it within me to not make a decision until I know God’s will about that issue.

May I abide in Him, that He may abide in me.

Seek First The Kingdom

Christians are supposed to be in this world, but not of this world. Aliens on a mission … the great commission – go ye into the world and make disciples. The directive was clear, but something changed along the way. The message seems to have been intercepted by a lie that to win the world, you have to become like it … think like it, dress like it, talk like it, have similar goals and ambitions.

The desire for position and material things is so great that we pray and fasting for them. We imagine that when we have these things, then we will be able to fulfil the great commission. We forget that the Bible tells us that God already knows that we need these things. We should be seeking first the kingdom. Our Father is the Master General, could he possible send us out into the world on a mission without giving us what we need to survive out there and succeed? I don’t think so.

As a Christian, when God gives you material things and position, it is not for your own comfort. It is to enable you to reach people at that level where he has put you, and to tell them about the greatness and goodness of God.

Your goal as a Christian is to win souls. To live a life such that people want to know and meet this God of yours who loves you so much. The trouble is that we want things to go our way so much that we do not give God the opportunity to shine…

Seek first the Kingdom of God …

Hear and Hear

The past few months have been a lesson in many things – faith, walking with God, knowing who I am and doing the Word that I know. Through it all I have had a couple of revelations when I was so sure I could take it no more. One brought encouragement, the other required (and still requires some chewing on and digesting)

I’ll start with the tough meat one.

In the middle of my struggles, I kept thinking about how Matthew 6 tells us not to worry, and how worrying cannot add a single hour to our lives. How special we are in God’s eye that he can do so much more for us than what he does for the birds and the flowers in the field. But there is a condition … to seek first the kingdom of God

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important that food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry …..your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. ~ Matthew 6:25-34

I had to ask myself what it means to seek first his kingdom, and I found my way to Galatians 5:22 where I was reminded that the fruit of the Spirit is  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If I could apply any one of these to my situation, it would be a display of the Kingdom of God. Not very easy to do, especially when everything happening seemed to demand a response completely opposite of any of those virtues. I stumbled all over the place, thankfully the Holy Spirit was on hand as always to hold me up.

Soon after, I came across Philippians 3:20 which says ‘But our citizenship is in heaven.’ That stopped me in my tracks. If my citizenship truly is in heaven, how come I so crave the things of this earth? Why does my goal always seem to be to collect material things, to gain social status, to look good in the eyes of man? I remembered Mark 4:18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires of other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

If I allow myself to forget my heritage, it is easy for the desire for things of this world and worry to set in and totally displace the Word in my life. I need to consciously seek first his kingdom and righteousness.

to be honest, I was so caught up in my circumstances that I could not see what was happening. It is an article from Charisma Magazine titles ‘Spiritual Attack’ shared by a friend that opened my eyes and encouraged me. Ignorance is not bliss. How easy it is for our eyes to be closed. 1 Peter 5:8 says it all:

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Be self-controlled and alert.

 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Mark 4:23

 

Ask And It Shall Be Given

At the start of the week, money was still a major issue in my mind. The bills were staring me in the face and all the money I was expecting was tied up and did not seem forth coming as soon as I needed it. I am one of those people who like to plan ahead. I like to have everything in hand and then work from there. I am quickly discovering that God does not operate like that. God gives as per what is required at that moment; not more, not less.

I struggled in my prayer. I tried to remember how people pray for open doors, for their money to be released from those holding it, but even as I said the words, I was not convinced. I got to the place where I directed a question to God: ‘How can I minister to your people, and speak of a Mighty God when I am not even (seemingly) able to pay my bills on time? Will they not mock me and laugh in my face?’ In response, it was like I felt God smile, and gently say, ‘Wait and see what will happen.’

True to His word, by the end of the day, I had the money required to pay the bills due the following day. Money from a source that I believed had run dry. I was so dumbstruck and overcome I was barely able to give thanks. The following day, the same happened. And by the end of the week, my bills are paid, and I have a testimony!

Reflecting on the events of the week, I realised it was not so much about how I asked, but where my heart was when  I asked. I had done all I could and felt backed up in a corner. The unfortunate thing was that I was turning to God for help as a last resort, rather than the first port of call. It made me consider a number of verses:

‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’ Matthew 6:33;  ‘Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.’ Psalm 37:4;  ‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,’ Ephesians 3:20. 

The more I look at these verses, the more I see that it is not about me and what I need done, but about God and what he requires accomplished through me for the sake of His name. When I spend time with God, he will show me what I should focus on. As I seek to deal with these things, he will work out all things (both his and mine) in ways that I cannot even start to imagine.

Ask and it will be given to you. Are you ready to receive according to God’s standards?

Money & Treasures

Money became an issue for me one year after I quit my job and I had no more money and no consistent source of money. For the last two and something years I have been trying to figure out this money thing.  The challenge is that it comes right alongside keeping in line with what I believe is my calling for this season – taking care of my home and family. For me to be able to do that, it is not possible to take up your typical 8am-5pm job as that would mean being away from home for a minimum of twelve hours, five days a week taking into account the commute.

I have been trying really hard to figure out this money thing. I unknowingly tried to trick God. I made pledges of big amounts of money to the church convinced that God would make it possible for me to honour the pledges. Not only that, but He would give me 90% of what I had pledged so that my giving would be 10% of that. My motive was wrong, and it became clear to me after a statement made in the Thursday evening Bible Study. Our teacher said something along the lines of “Any area of your life where there is death and lack of peace, you are operating in the flesh” taken from Romans 8:6 ‘The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.’ I took that one home and chewed on it and the light shone on my wrong motives. Ouch!

The same week, another Bible Study lesson focused on chapter six of the book of Matthew, and I got stuck on verses 25-34 which talks about worry, and I latched on verse 32-33 ‘For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’

I was still chewing … so my money issues probably stemmed from my dealing with them in the flesh. What would it be like to deal with money with a mind controlled by the Spirit? Life and peace. Money would become a tool, a means to and end, and not The End. But that still did not solve the problem of WHERE to get the money from! What do I need to do to get this seemingly elusive money?

Deuteronomy 8:18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers as it is today. So God has given me the ability to create wealth using my brain, skills and talents. Throughout the Proverbs there is advice on making plans, using knowledge and seeking counsel. And Colossians 3:23-24 ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward’ speaks for itself.

What I understood then was that I should do what I know to do, or that which I do well, and do it to the best of my ability, and God will bless the works of my hands. No more tricks, just honest work.

Make sense?