Today’s "Life Journal" Daily Bible Reading can be found on Line. Click Here!
1 Chronicles 16; Psalm 106; Matthew 19
“We Have Given Up Everything
To Follow You.
What Will We Get?”
Scripture
27 Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”
28 Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.
Observation
Kathy
and I laughed this past week when we somehow got to talking about what our kids
would inherit when we die. I don’t know what started the conversation, but we
both agreed; It doesn’t matter to us that our kids won’t have much stuff to
worry about having to divide up when Mom and Dad are gone.
Because
God’s call on our lives involved going overseas as missionaries we sold just
about everything we owned (which wasn’t much) 4 different times and each time
we did we bought less than we had before. And even doing that we had more stuff
than most of the other people had in the different countries where God called
us to serve. Most of the people in Mexico, Morocco, and Cuba had very little
compared to what even poor Americans had.
I admire
people that really give up everything.
I
think of Katie Davis who right out of high school to serve as a Missionary in
Uganda. Buy and read the book Kisses From Katie and see what God can do
with someone that gives up everything and serves Him overseas. I think of the
young college age students that are giving up everything to go and live in the
Amazon Jungle with the tribes that they are trying to reach. Or Hugh Roberts
traveling to Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Egypt, Nepal,
India, ATL Southeast Asia and South Korea on a 9 month long discipleship trip
to train other young people how to disciple and train those that they reach for
Christ. I think
of friends who live in difficult and hostile countries where death is a
day-to-day reality.
They
are my heroes! They are rich!
Maybe
God has made you and I rich so we can do more for the Kingdom of God. Maybe our
resources were never meant so that we could have bigger houses, newer and nicer
cars, boats, vacation houses, and what ever else we can think of buying
ourselves.
Maybe
just maybe God has blessed us with so much so that we could use the majority of
that for His Kingdom.
And
what if we spend most of it on ourselves … won’t we be the losers in the long
run?
Jesus
said,
“And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father
or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as
much in return and will inherit eternal life
Application
I
will look and see where God wants me to give.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, bless those that sacrifice so much for
your Kingdom. I know You will bless them because You say You will. Bless those
like Katie Davis, Crystal Snow, Hugh Roberts, and so many others like them.
Open the eyes of the businessmen and women who You have blessed so that they
can see that You have blessed them for a reason. Give them big hearts. Help
them to be generous. Help me to be generous.
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