[FONT="]Will I receive more if I´m working hard to advance His kingdom? Sure! He´ll give more to share (but I´m not saved for giving charity).[/FONT]
[h=2]“Blessed are those who freely give”[/h][FONT="]The Bible record tells me he saw a poor woman giving in all she had to live, but I never read He despised poor or rich people.[/FONT]
[FONT="]It´s easy to know the reason a man (or a woman) had to use prostitution as a means to make money (or to get some physical pleasure) but I see Him paying a visit to a woman who loved Him tenderly when spreading over His head a costly perfume, before He died. Was she rich enough or poor to do that? (The New Testament said she was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and she stopped doing wrong).[/FONT]
[FONT="]In the Old Testament we read of a man who went to a “whore” after selling his sheep. a) Was that woman a real prostitute?[/FONT]
[FONT="]b) Was he married or needed someone´s favor to find some physical release?[/FONT]
[FONT="]We, as Christians, have the right to keep our views, but the truth shines itself.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Money may serve for good or wrong. It´s up to us to see what we do to avoid the wrong we did.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Jesus, clearly said, [/FONT][FONT="]we cannot love money and serve God[/FONT][FONT="]. He, instead, told His disciples to leave all, while He Himself had left all He had those three (3) final years. (Matt. 6:24-25; Matt. 8:20) What a coherency! Jesus wasn´t lying to manhood.[/FONT]
[FONT="](I worship You, God! I often thought those words were His way to dismiss good intentions)
[/FONT]
[FONT="]He discouraged all those who were unwilling to pay the price (John 6:60, 63-66, 67-68) so, Is it coherent to ask people anything we haven´t left?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Can I ask my brother: “Stop sinning” while I haven´t stopped judging or blaming others?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Is it consistent to ask any woman´s love, while I plan to leave her alone the moment I´m being informed she is pregnant (and the “father” is me)?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Jesus never intended to ask ANY to do a thing He wasn´t doing or planned to do.[/FONT]
[FONT="]When Jesus asked His disciples to follow Him:[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He knew they could (so [/FONT][FONT="]He had faith[/FONT][FONT="] on mankind)[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He knew who they were and prayed for them.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will provide for deficiencies or lacks.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will encourage.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will empower.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will nurture.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will assist.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will test.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]And they would endure (except Judas).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Money does not qualify our inner being and strengths. Money does not empower character and never gives us assurance at all (Matt. 6:19, 21)[/FONT]
[FONT="]Jesus was and is rich, but not the earthly fashion certain men insist on (just to ask free money from you and me).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Jesus is rich because God wants Him to be so and, accordingly to Revelations, He deserves all: He is the only one who deserves it (on earth).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The materialistic view says you are poor “because you are cursed”. Some go farther and said: “God does not love you”. So, are rich people the only blessed?[/FONT]
[FONT="]The WHOLE New Testament insists one God blessing: “Is that blessing money alone?”[/FONT]
[FONT="]The whole Scripture says we´ve been blessed by God, through Israel and His chosen people (but “I´m under a curse” because I´m poor).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Did Jesus publicly bless the poor woman who gave her all, at the temple? (Yes! And we don´t know her name).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Was a poor woman blessed when giving food (and roof) a holy man God sent?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Instead, by doing that, that poor woman fed her starving son for weeks, same way she blessed a prophet.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]What deters you to share what you have got: Money idolatry? Greed? Lack of faith and trust on God´s provision?[/FONT]
[h=2]“Blessed are those who freely give”[/h][FONT="]The Bible record tells me he saw a poor woman giving in all she had to live, but I never read He despised poor or rich people.[/FONT]
[FONT="]It´s easy to know the reason a man (or a woman) had to use prostitution as a means to make money (or to get some physical pleasure) but I see Him paying a visit to a woman who loved Him tenderly when spreading over His head a costly perfume, before He died. Was she rich enough or poor to do that? (The New Testament said she was Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and she stopped doing wrong).[/FONT]
[FONT="]In the Old Testament we read of a man who went to a “whore” after selling his sheep. a) Was that woman a real prostitute?[/FONT]
[FONT="]b) Was he married or needed someone´s favor to find some physical release?[/FONT]
[FONT="]We, as Christians, have the right to keep our views, but the truth shines itself.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Money may serve for good or wrong. It´s up to us to see what we do to avoid the wrong we did.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Jesus, clearly said, [/FONT][FONT="]we cannot love money and serve God[/FONT][FONT="]. He, instead, told His disciples to leave all, while He Himself had left all He had those three (3) final years. (Matt. 6:24-25; Matt. 8:20) What a coherency! Jesus wasn´t lying to manhood.[/FONT]
[FONT="](I worship You, God! I often thought those words were His way to dismiss good intentions)
[/FONT]
[FONT="]He discouraged all those who were unwilling to pay the price (John 6:60, 63-66, 67-68) so, Is it coherent to ask people anything we haven´t left?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Can I ask my brother: “Stop sinning” while I haven´t stopped judging or blaming others?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Is it consistent to ask any woman´s love, while I plan to leave her alone the moment I´m being informed she is pregnant (and the “father” is me)?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Jesus never intended to ask ANY to do a thing He wasn´t doing or planned to do.[/FONT]
[FONT="]When Jesus asked His disciples to follow Him:[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He knew they could (so [/FONT][FONT="]He had faith[/FONT][FONT="] on mankind)[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He knew who they were and prayed for them.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will provide for deficiencies or lacks.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will encourage.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will empower.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will nurture.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will assist.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]He will test.[/FONT]
· [FONT="]And they would endure (except Judas).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Money does not qualify our inner being and strengths. Money does not empower character and never gives us assurance at all (Matt. 6:19, 21)[/FONT]
[FONT="]Jesus was and is rich, but not the earthly fashion certain men insist on (just to ask free money from you and me).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Jesus is rich because God wants Him to be so and, accordingly to Revelations, He deserves all: He is the only one who deserves it (on earth).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The materialistic view says you are poor “because you are cursed”. Some go farther and said: “God does not love you”. So, are rich people the only blessed?[/FONT]
[FONT="]The WHOLE New Testament insists one God blessing: “Is that blessing money alone?”[/FONT]
[FONT="]The whole Scripture says we´ve been blessed by God, through Israel and His chosen people (but “I´m under a curse” because I´m poor).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Did Jesus publicly bless the poor woman who gave her all, at the temple? (Yes! And we don´t know her name).
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Was a poor woman blessed when giving food (and roof) a holy man God sent?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Instead, by doing that, that poor woman fed her starving son for weeks, same way she blessed a prophet.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]What deters you to share what you have got: Money idolatry? Greed? Lack of faith and trust on God´s provision?[/FONT]