Wisdom on Wednesday

Luke 13:1-5

From The Message - Luke 13:1-5
About that time some people came up & told him [Jesus] about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar.  Jesus responded, "Do you think those murdered Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans?  Not at all.  Unless you turn to God, you too will die.  And those eighteen in Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed & killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites?  Not at all.  Unless you turn to God, you too will die."

I wonder…
do you think those Haitians were worse sinners than all of us?  Not at all.  For unless you turn to God, you too will surely die.

money Monday

I read a statistic today.  Unfortunately it really wasn't that shocking.  It should be, but really it isn't.
It's reported that in 2009, the average American spent $1.22 for every $1.00 earned.  So, let's assume (using a rough average I found at Wikipedia) that the average American made $40,000 in 2009, that average American spent $48,800.  Roughly.  This same report noted that the average American family carried $8,000 in credit card debt at the end of 2009.  Hmmmm…
Why?
Part of it we come by nationally, errr I mean naturally.  The government spend about $1.4 Trillion more than it collected in 2009 too.  But we can't blame everything on the government.

So what does that 22 cents and the $1.4 trillion say?
"We have been provided with less than what we need.  We must spend more than we receive to live."
*
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus"  Philippians 4:9.
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Do I believe that God will provide all that I need?  ALL?  He will provide everything that I need.  It may not be what my neighbor has, or what I think I really want or what Bill Gates has in his change jar on the dresser, but God has custom-made a providing for me.  And it is sufficient.  For ALL.  If God provides me $1, I have what is necessary for ALL I need.
*
Is it a sin to spend more than we make, to have debt?  You won't find a specific verse in Scripture claiming "thou shalt not have credit card debt".
As with so many things in the life of a follower of Jesus, this is a heart issue.   Why spend more than you have been provided (more than you make)?  What is the heart reason behind it?
*
God will meet all our needs.  All of them.  It may not look as fancy as a Pottery Barn showroom or a BMW dealership, but our needs will surely be met.

5 things I know

This week in Sunday School with the teenage girls, we were talking about our identity & the masks we sometimes wear when we believe the world's lie that we're not good enough the way we are.  We looked at various verses about what God knows and thinks about us.  In one set of Scriptures we read [below], we learned 5 amazing things:

• God knows everything about us.  everything!
• God is with us always, no matter where we go or how we try to hide. always!
• God made us exactly the way He wanted. exactly!
• God is the Author of our lives. Nothing we do can surprise Him!  nothing!
• God's thoughts towards us are precious and innumerable.  precious!

I couldn't help but think that having some of these Scriptures in my heart could change the way I think at times.  Perhaps having my true identity, that is - what God says about me, in my mind, in my memory and on my tongue, I could replace the identity the world says I have.  When that little voice says, "you're alone, you don't have any friends", I could argue back, "I can never escape from the Spirit!  I can never get away from His presence!"   Or that voice that says "you have a really big nose", I could argue, "God made all my delicate parts!  even my nose".

So, a bit crazy?  perhaps.  But I'm going to try anyhow.  Here's a collections of verses I love that remind me of what God thinks and knows.  Let the memorization begin!  Won't you join me?

Psalm 139:1-18

Oh, Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  

You know when I sit down or stand up.  

You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.  

You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  

You know everything I do.  

You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.

You go before me and follow me.

You place you hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand.

I can never escape from your Spirit!

I can never get away from your presence!

If I go up to heaven, you are there;  if I go down to the grave, you are there.

If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 

even there your hand will guide me, & your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night - 

but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

To you the night shines as bright as day.

Darkness and light are the same to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother's womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born.

Everyday of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.

They cannot be numbered!

I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!  

And when I wake up, you are still with me!