Tag: love of money
The good fight of faith!
Scripture reading for December 5: 1 Timothy 1-6
Do you sometimes feel that you are fighting to keep your focus on the goal of seeing Jesus Christ either when He comes or when you go to be with Him? Do the things of this world compete for your attention and sometimes derail your focus? Timothy, a young pastor, was encouraged to wage a “good fight” by the great Apostle Paul. What does this “good fight” look like today?
In Timothy’s day, as ours, one of the distractions happened to be money and riches. There were those who got caught in the pursuit of riches and wealth and were never content. The love of money became a driving force. As people let the love of money drive them and their choices, they fell into temptation and the trap of the Devil. This opened the door in their lives for ruin and destruction! (1 Timothy 6:6-10) Some had wandered from the faith and brought grief into their lives!
“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:11-12
Paul encouraged his young pastoral protege to flee from this trap of the Devil. He was to pursue righteousness and all the qualities of godliness. We get what we pursue and focus on! What kind of fight are we really involved in? Is it a fight of faith or for money and material things?
The strategy for those who do have money and are rich in the things of this world is to fight the fight of faith by generous giving! (1 Timothy 6:17-19) Timothy was to be faithful to warn them not to put their faith in riches. Riches are very uncertain and can soon vanish or become worthless, particularly when you die. The only way to insure eternal value is to use your riches to win people to the Lord. A firm foundation for the future of life with the Lord will be eternal riches of those won to the Kingdom through generous giving!
“Timothy, guard what has be entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.” 1 Timothy 6:20-21
The war we are in is waged in every-day living. We must always be on guard. We must know the true Word of God and live accordingly to keep from being seduced. Fight the fight of faith in your life today! We win eternally!
Godliness and contentment!
Scripture reading for July 4th: 1st Kings 10-11, 2nd Chronicles 9, 1st Timothy 6
1st Timothy 6: 6-12 “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life, . . “
Paul encouraged Timothy to avoid the lure of money and riches as a means of finding meaning in life. This trap is an old one and is chronicled for us in the life of Solomon, whose riches brought him nothing but “vanity” or emptiness. It also turned his attention away from God, along with his many wives and concubines that his riches enabled him to have. True men and women of God will flee from this temptation, the ‘love of money’, and pursue by faith the kingdom of God. It is a ‘good fight’ because it yields eternal riches in God’s presence when Jesus Christ is revealed. We must keep our eyes on the true prize and not get distracted by the shiny objects!
1st Timothy 6:14-16 “. .to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will display at the proper time–He Who is the Blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Who alone has immortality, Who dwells in unapproachable light, Whom no one has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen!”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I long to see You and to receive my full inheritance! Thank You for the Holy Spirit, Who empowers me to live in godliness and with contentment for the abundance I have been given here on earth. Keep me from ever being distracted by the love of money. May I always be in pursuit of Your righteousness which is by faith through grace. To You be honor and eternal dominion forever and ever!
1st Kings 11:6-8 “So Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.”
Alarmed but no repentance
Scripture reading for May 7th: Acts 24
Key Scriptures: Acts 24:24-27 “After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.”
For two years, Paul was under house arrest in Caesarea, the Roman government center of Israel and safe from the murderous Jews. There he had opportunity to share Jesus with guards and the head of the Roman government, Felix and his Jewish wife. Paul shared the Gospel message and warned them of God’s judgment on sin and His requirement and provision for righteousness through faith in Jesus. This alarmed Felix and he sent Paul away for a time. He kept calling him back, under the guise of hearing more but all he really wanted was a bribe of money. Hard soil finds no room for the Word of God and love of money is a snare of the soul. God’s mercy waits a long time that repentance will break the hardness.
Mark 4:3-4 “”Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.”
Faith confession and prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to remember that Your timing is not always mine. Help me to patiently sow Your Word and water it with prayer, seeking You for repentance and a harvest.
1st Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
Learning to be content!
Scripture reading for October 1st: 1 Timothy 6, Psalm 46, Proverbs 11
Key Scriptures: 1st Timothy 6:6-10 “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
Paul encouraged his son in the faith to continue to be godly and learn contentment. The pull of our world toward riches and fame is strong. When the desire to become rich in this world replaces the desire to be rich in our relationship with God, nothing but ruin and destruction can follow. We will take no riches of this world into the next. If we lose our soul for earthly gain, we have lost everything.
Faith Confession: I choose to be a godly man and live in contentment with God’s provision for me in this world. I am thankful for daily food and clothing and a place to stay. Lord, deliver me from the trap of seeking earthly riches and fame.
Proverbs 11:4-5 “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.”
Faithful in the ‘Little’!
Scripture reading for March 25th: Luke 16
Key scriptures for over-comers: Luke 16:10-12 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”
Worldly wealth is given to each person as a trust by the Lord. Some receive little and others receive much. From this teaching of Jesus, He taught that all worldly wealth was ‘little’ in the heavenly view of life and the kingdom. Our faithfulness to use worldly wealth to bless others and give to God’s work is a test that prepares us for ‘true riches’ in the eternal kingdom that is here and soon to manifest. If we are dishonest in our use of money, God will not trust us with the eternal. Our faith is demonstrated in all our dealings with money. If we love money, we can’t really love God! (Luke 16:13) We are stewards of His property not owners!
Observations for over-comers: God calls His people to give the tithe and offerings as acts of worship and obedient faith. Giving is a spiritual discipline that helps keep God first and breaks the love of money. “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9)
Godliness is gain!
Scripture reading for October 21st: 1st Timothy 6:1-21
The false teachers of Paul’s day often used their religion to make money. The idols of Ephesus supported a large trade union of silversmiths who made a living off of selling idols. The keepers of the idol temples made money from prostitution that was used to worship. Some of the so-called ‘Christian’ teachers also taught that God wanted people to be rich.
“If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” (1st Timothy 6:3-5) These teachers used words, controversial doctrines, and promoted envy and strife in the body of Christ. Paul warned Timothy to beware of their tactics and instead teach and model the truth.
“Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” (1st Timothy 6:6-10a) Paul told Timothy that godliness was great gain for those who were content in Jesus Christ. A focus on obtaining lots of money could easily become a trap of Satan. The love of money was a strong force driving people into idolatry and away from God.
Timothy must flee from this love of money and the trap of the devil by pursuing righteousness and godliness through faith and love. “Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called,” (1st Timothy 6:12a) Paul wanted Timothy to have a great reward from Jesus Christ when He appeared!
We must keep pressing on to conform our lives to that of Christ. Godliness is great gain when Christ appears in His glory! We must use our money, possessions, gifts and faith to produce good works that will bring eternal riches!
Fight the good fight!
Scripture reading for December 7th: 1 Timothy 4-6
Do you fight to keep your focus on Jesus Christ? Do the things of this world compete for your attention? Timothy, a young pastor, was encouraged to wage a “good fight” by the great Apostle Paul.
In Timothy’s day, as ours, one of the distractions was money. Many got caught in the pursuit of riches and the love of money became a driving force in their life. They fell into temptation and the trap of the Devil, opening the door in their lives for ruin and destruction! (1 Timothy 6:6-10) Some had wandered from the faith and brought grief into their lives!
“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:11-12) Paul encouraged his young pastoral protege to flee from this trap. He was to pursue righteousness and all the qualities of godliness. We get what we focus on!
The strategy for those who do have money is to fight the fight of faith by generous giving! (1 Timothy 6:17-19) Timothy was to be faithful to warn them not to put their faith in riches. Riches are very uncertain and can soon vanish or become worthless. The only way to insure eternal value is to use your riches to win people to the Lord. A firm foundation for the future of life with the Lord will be eternal riches of those won to the Kingdom through generous giving!
“Timothy, guard what has be entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.” 1 Timothy 6:20-21
The war is waged in every-day living. We must always be on guard. Some claim knowledge that is opposed to God’s word, causing them to wander away from faith in Christ. We must know the true word of God and live by it to keep from being seduced. Profession is not always possession! We must guard the truth and stay away from distractions like gossip and false doctrine. Fight the good fight today and lay hold of true riches!
Godliness and gain!
Scripture reading for October 21st: 1st Timothy 6:1-21
The false teachers of Paul’s day often used their religion to make money. The idols of Ephesus supported a large trade union of silversmiths who made a living off of selling idols. The keepers of the idol temples made money from prostitution that was used to worship. Some of the so-called ‘Christian’ teachers also taught that God wanted people to be rich.
“If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” (1st Timothy 6:3-5) These teachers used words, controversial doctrines, and promoted envy and strife in the body of Christ. Paul warned Timothy to beware of their tactics and steadfastly teach and model the truth.
“Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” (1st Timothy 6:6-10a) Paul told Timothy that godliness is great gain for those who are content in Jesus Christ. A focus on obtaining lots of money can be a trap of Satan. The love of money is a strong force driving people into idolatry and away from God.
Timothy, as a young minister, must flee from this love of money and the trap of the devil by pursuing righteousness and godliness through faith and love. “Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called,” (1st Timothy 6:12a) Paul wanted Timothy to have a great reward from Jesus Christ when He appeared!
We must keep pressing on to conform our lives to that of Christ. Godliness is great gain when Christ appears in His glory! We must use our money, possessions, gifts and faith to produce good works that will bring eternal riches!