Labor not…. To be rich 3
Hello everyone,
How are you doing on this day? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord. “WAIT and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing]. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness [the profuseness of spiritual joy]” (Isaiah 55v1-2). Many many many things that money cannot buy. For instance, salvation and all that comes with it – sonship, the Spirit who gives the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Even if it seems to buy somethings like love, or kindness … for sometime, it won’t last for long. God is the one who gives us these things for free, and ensures an endless supply.
Primary Text: Proverbs 23v4&5
“Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” Proverbs 23v4&5 (KJV)
“Weary not yourself to be rich; cease from your own [human] wisdom. Will you set your eyes upon your wealth, when [suddenly] it is gone? For riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.” Proverbs 23v4&5 (AMP)
Now we do need money for things in life, but our reliance should not be on the riches themselves, but on God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Most High God, who owns the silver and the gold. Again, we know that if a man does well for himself on earth, he will be commended, but we should remember always that “For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth” (2 Corinthians 10v18). We see a message to the angel of the church in Laodicea, where the people said one thing, but the Lord was saying another thing. Let us examine ourselves….
Supplementary Text:
“Why do you boast about your crimes, great warrior? Don’t you realize God’s justice continues forever? All day long you plot destruction. Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; you’re an expert at telling lies. You love evil more than good and lies more than truth. Interlude. You love to destroy others with your words, you liar! But God will strike you down once and for all. He will pull you from your home and uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude. The righteous will see it and be amazed. They will laugh and say, “Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.” But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.” Psalm 52v1-8 (NLT)
“And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness, the Origin and Beginning and Author of God’s creation: I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth! For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to purchase from Me gold refined and tested by fire, that you may be [truly] wealthy, and white clothes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nudity from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].”
Prayer
Father, we thank You for Your Word today. We thank You for Your goodness and grace towards us. We pray Lord that You sit as a refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap, and purge us of everything that is not of You. We want to buy from You gold refined and rested by fire, that we may be truly wealthy. We pray that You will cloth us with white clothes that our nudity may be covered and we will not suffer shame. We ask to buy salve from You for our eyes that we may see. We thank You for loving us. Please continue to chastise us when we err, that we may be partakers of Your holiness. Teach us Your ways, unite our hearts to fear Your name, now and forevermore, glorify Yourself in our lives, use us for Your glory and for the expansion of the kingdom of God here on earth. And when You come back, may none of us be found wanting in Jesus name, amen.
How are you doing on this day? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord. “WAIT and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing]. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness [the profuseness of spiritual joy]” (Isaiah 55v1-2). Many many many things that money cannot buy. For instance, salvation and all that comes with it – sonship, the Spirit who gives the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Even if it seems to buy somethings like love, or kindness … for sometime, it won’t last for long. God is the one who gives us these things for free, and ensures an endless supply.
Primary Text: Proverbs 23v4&5
“Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” Proverbs 23v4&5 (KJV)
“Weary not yourself to be rich; cease from your own [human] wisdom. Will you set your eyes upon your wealth, when [suddenly] it is gone? For riches certainly make themselves wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.” Proverbs 23v4&5 (AMP)
Now we do need money for things in life, but our reliance should not be on the riches themselves, but on God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Most High God, who owns the silver and the gold. Again, we know that if a man does well for himself on earth, he will be commended, but we should remember always that “For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth” (2 Corinthians 10v18). We see a message to the angel of the church in Laodicea, where the people said one thing, but the Lord was saying another thing. Let us examine ourselves….
Supplementary Text:
“Why do you boast about your crimes, great warrior? Don’t you realize God’s justice continues forever? All day long you plot destruction. Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; you’re an expert at telling lies. You love evil more than good and lies more than truth. Interlude. You love to destroy others with your words, you liar! But God will strike you down once and for all. He will pull you from your home and uproot you from the land of the living. Interlude. The righteous will see it and be amazed. They will laugh and say, “Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God. They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.” But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God. I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.” Psalm 52v1-8 (NLT)
“And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness, the Origin and Beginning and Author of God’s creation: I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth! For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to purchase from Me gold refined and tested by fire, that you may be [truly] wealthy, and white clothes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nudity from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I tell their faults and convict and convince and reprove and chasten [I discipline and instruct them]. So be enthusiastic and in earnest and burning with zeal and repent [changing your mind and attitude].”
Prayer
Father, we thank You for Your Word today. We thank You for Your goodness and grace towards us. We pray Lord that You sit as a refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap, and purge us of everything that is not of You. We want to buy from You gold refined and rested by fire, that we may be truly wealthy. We pray that You will cloth us with white clothes that our nudity may be covered and we will not suffer shame. We ask to buy salve from You for our eyes that we may see. We thank You for loving us. Please continue to chastise us when we err, that we may be partakers of Your holiness. Teach us Your ways, unite our hearts to fear Your name, now and forevermore, glorify Yourself in our lives, use us for Your glory and for the expansion of the kingdom of God here on earth. And when You come back, may none of us be found wanting in Jesus name, amen.
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