Such a carnival of wonderment;
Everything Man.
Glitzy things proffered by his own tiny hands.
Eye candy people milling about,
Expressing their joy with a visual shout.
“We are one! We are vibrant! We will last till we are gone! We build desires legacy, that our children might pass it on!”
Godless and happily so
They strut through the night;
Down into deep darkness
Toward that great unseen light.
Even so, Lord Jesus come.
Zacchaeus was evidently a man of small stature, but he was not poor. He promised to pay back double if he had cheated anyone.
In my life, I have been a man of small heart, and nearly a pauper. I am no billionaire, and what money can remove the scars from those I have injured?
But I am eternally rich in the things of Christ. It is he who will pay back double for all the injury I have made. I am wealthy beyond my possible imagination. Be patient, for justice and mercy will come like a flood.
By His Grace
By His Grace
Among people, who are those who suffer well? It is those who own nothing of what they own.
These are prepared to lose everything, even while they have it all. It is the one who is determined, while in wealth and health, to die penniless and miserable. This one cannot be held hostage to expectations full of error. If prosperity of possessions continues to a peaceful death in his own bed, such a one will have lived his life without fear of loss.
Though all he has is taken. Though sickness viciously tears at his body. Though the wicked greed of man rips his belongings from his control. This one will prosper.
Yet is it enough to be stoic in our life? Is it necessary to pass by the loaf of bread while you have money and hunger? Is it right to purchase the rust bucket chariot so that you will suffer the pains of upkeep? Is it required of us to live under a pile of leaves in a part of the forest we don’t, and can’t own? Such people are not being responsible with what has been given them.
What provokes the Responsible life? Is it the desire of a man to become completely humble among all men? That mind-set is produced from the pride of life. Pride can’t, by its very nature, produce humility. Such a man might feel pretty proud of himself, after all, he has forsaken what other people crave. But his humility is crushed by a whisper of pride.
Jesus provokes the true strength of life. His strength in a man is beyond ALL the things of this world. Because His teaching and “in dwelling” comes from Heaven; a place which has never entertained the temporary wealth of this place. And NEVER will.
If we want to be strong. If we want to endure with stellar conviction. If we want to live that “over coming” life, we will have to appropriate the teaching and character of the Lord Jesus. While we live in relative peace, it is best to be prepared for the worst. Let us not compile “things” so that we will be able to endure hardship. Let us prepare our heart to be God’s champion, even if the entire world comes after us.
How does cancer become a trophy to be desired? How does molestation become a crown of joy? How does losing our job, or place in the family, become a stepping stone to eternally born victory? All these things, and the myriad of things that can happen to a person, become glory when we embrace failure. We love our weakness, because it gives us an opportunity to overcome! Even our own sins can become trophies of Grace. Such things can produce a certain kind of humility that cannot be manufactured by the desire of a man. Nor can it be purchased by any of our possessions.
We encounter hardship for the sake of Christ. We encounter hardship for the sake of testifying that God’s love and promise are vastly more, and true, than anything the world can provide. We testify that life can be lived, even while this world has strapped us to a post in the middle of a raging fire. We can clap our charred hands, even while the skin of our bodies walks toward becoming a lump of coal. Thus, we encourage others to love the God who bestows such incredible strength.
Let us testify that God in us, is greater than all things. Prosperity, health, wealth, sickness, persecution, joy, poverty, alienation, or fame, cannot take away the riches of Christ in any man! It is the man who counts any of these things as more valuable or stronger than the promise of God. This is the one who will likely lose it ALL.
Let the man who perceives his poverty go to the rich man. Let the pauper ask for a grant. If the rich man is truly rich, he will accent.
But let the pauper stay a while to gain wisdom in dispensing this wealth. For he did not know how to tend to his own. How will he now tend to that which is freely given? Won’t he become a pauper again?
Let regret stay a long distance from your door, O’ Pauper. Stay and learn from he who knows how to retain.
______________
I have millions of regrets for things I’ve done. But I cannot allow a singular item to become an item of regret.
I have received a luxurious grant from the Lord, through the wisdom and diligence of an elderly man.
Many years ago, I became a Christian. When that happened, the Lord brought a wonderful example of Christianity to me.
I learned volumes, regarding the diligence necessary to retain what I had been granted.
Regret came decades later when I realized I left that wonderful man far too soon. I did end up squandering that wealth, to some degree.
And I paid a heavy price for about 10 years.
________________
So let it be that a man who perceives his poverty should go to He who is rich beyond measure. Let him ask. He will receive.
But let that beggar stay a while. Let him sit at the feet of a God sent mentor. Let come what may, secure diligence!
It has come and stolen what is precious. But no one seems to notice. The treasury of man has been ransacked while the guards were sleeping.
Even making this proclamation requires that the story be told of the things that have been stolen. For humanity has forgotten its used to own a precious gift.
A man was walking down the street. In his pocket he had 7 golden coins. His hand would not leave his pocket while he walked about in public. This is how lovingly he protected his wealth.
A stealthy creature, dressed in white, stepped out of an alley in front of him. With beaming smile he addressed the man. “I am pleasantly rich and have chosen you, that I may grant you the desire of your heart”. So the creature spoke to the man.
Because the creature was lovely, and the offer so desired, the man stopped to listen. “What do you offer and how much do you require?”
With entrancing eyes and a beautiful smile, the creature produced a shining large coin. Its beauty was magnificent and it seemed to hum in the hands of the creature. The man’s heart was set ablaze with desire. “This coin is rare indeed. It has been mined from a place where only three men have ever been able to reach. But because I have chosen you, all I require are 7 gold coins.”
Without another thought the 7 coins in the man’s pocket were exchanged. With best wishes they parted company and the man left for his duties.
He could have spent the 7 gold coins that were in his pocket. He could have thrived well for the rest of his life on what property he did own. But he exchanged it for a worthless plug of metal.
For two reasons it is worthless. Because it is not the currency of the land, no one will exchange it for goods. And because the man thinks it is more precious than his very life, he will not part with it. So the man is ruined though he does not perceive it.
To poverty he plunged before he took the first step away from the creature. Man has exchanged a very valuable resource for the things that do not last.
In the days before technology men believed in deity. This is the time of which is written, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” (Galatians 4: 4)
With what will man today reach to purchase the things that last forever? He has exchange his wealth for shining folly.
God’s people yearn to see a love for the living God displayed in all men. But they will not listen because they have exchanged their wealth for that which will not last.
By His Grace
We: Live, Die, Face Judgment. Jesus or die twice.
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