Tag: Poverty

Morning Musing: 1 Corinthians 1:28

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**This will be my last post this week. I hope you and your family have a very, Merry Christmas. May you know the full blessings that only the birth of our Savior can bring. See you Monday!

“God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world — what is viewed as nothing — to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

We are wowed by power and prestige. We give deference to wealth. We assume that rich people are smarter and better informed about…well…everything than poor people. We expect more from people we deem powerful than those we don’t. We look to befriend people we think will give us some sort of social or vocational advantage. We do this because we make judgments based on what we can see. This works if some sort of worldly success is our goal. When it comes to the kingdom of God, though, all of this gets turned on its head.

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Morning Musing: Amos 5:10-12

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“They hate the one who convicts the guilty at the city gate, and they despise the one who speaks with integrity. Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact a grain tax from him, you will never live in the houses of cut stone you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted. For I know your crimes are many and your sins innumerable. They oppress the righteous, take a bribe, and deprive the poor of justice at the city gates.”
— ‭‭Amos‬ ‭5:10-12‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is it that gets you the most worked up? What is it that when you see it happen, you get all fired up and take a while to calm down? What makes you angry? Whatever this thing is, it’s a clue to what’s most important to you. Now, if this thing is something pretty trivial, it may be an indicator that you’ve got some priorities in need of straightening out. Knowing what is most important to you matters, though, because it allows you to set some direction for your life. What we get in these three verses from Amos is a picture of one of the things that is most important to God.

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 24:11-12

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“Rescue those being taken off to death, and save those stumbling toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we didn’t know about this,’ won’t he who weighs hearts consider it? Won’t he who protects your life know? Won’t he repay a person according to his work?”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever read a verse and felt convicted by it? I’ve spent the past several days reading through Proverbs 24. I initially came to this spot because I caught a verse in another context and wanted to write a note about it. Taking my own advice, I read the whole context. There’s a ton of great stuff in this chapter. And there’s this passage. It’s grabbed my heart and mind and hasn’t let go. If you would, let me explore that with you. 

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Morning Musing: Mark 10:26-27

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“And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Consider the disciples’ reaction here. Jesus had just made His famous declaration that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (almost certainly a real camel and a real needle rather than some gate) than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. They understood Jesus rightly to be saying that rich people can’t get to heaven. And now that I have you hung up just like they were, if for a different reason, let me explain. Read the rest…

Moring Musings: 1 Timothy 6:17-19

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As this new year dawns, I am now six months into this venture. It came after a long period of thinking about it, with much encouragement from several sources, most notably my beautiful bride. Thus far it has proved to be more work than I imagined, but also more satisfying. I love to write and this provides an outlet for that. More importantly, you, the good folks who take time out of your day several times a week to read what I have to say, make it possible. Thank you for your time, your thoughts, and your willingness to share when something has struck your fancy. I am looking forward to what the future brings. Happy New Year! Here is 2018’s inaugural Morning Musing. And stay tuned for yesterday’s sermon this afternoon. We’ll talk about how to have the best new year yet. Blessings to you!

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes in the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

To borrow a bit from an idea that Andy Stanley has been proclaiming for several years, there is nothing inherently wrong with being rich.  The problem is that most people who are rich aren’t very good at it.  Most rich people think their resources are primarily for them.  They think they own them.  They think they can do with them mostly as they please.  If that’s how you are being rich, you’re not doing it right. Read the rest…