Devotional - 99-06-05 - I Left My VISA In San Francisco

Philippians 1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ..

If you are going to visit San Francisco, bring your VISA card, or American Express, MasterCard, or bank ATM cards. If a proposal by Mayor Willie Brown passes, homeless beggars could soon be equipped with credit card type machines that would allow you to give and pay it off over time.

Money sure is a hot topic. If you struggle with greed, coveting, or wanting to have that which is not yours, read 2 Kings 5:20-27. If you do not ever struggle with greed, coveting, or wanting to have that which is not yours, well, you lie. We all struggle, at least from time to time, with wanting this, or wishing we had that. Almost anyone would trade places, if only for a day, with Bill Gates, or Donald Trump.

But regardless of your financial state, or regardless or how deep the pile of debt is that you have accumulated, there is one thing that is true if you are a follower of Christ; you are rich beyond your wildest dreams. In many respects this is pie in the sky. Yes, much of the reward of following Christ is taken by faith. One of the truest statements about Christians is to say that they are a people who trust, who have faith, who depend on the promises of God. Many of those promises are future.

There are, however, many promises for the follower of the Lord Jesus Christ which are not future, but here, now, present for us today. Just highlighting a few:

Assurance of faith. I can't explain it, and some don't have it, but assurance that we are children of God and adopted into His family is one of the greatest blessings the Spirit gives in this life. It gives peace to our thoughts, harmony to our lives, and clam to our souls.

Holiness/Godliness. This is something that we all strive towards, but it is still something that aids us in our journey through life. The peacefulness that pure hearts and pure hands give us helps us daily.

Fellowship. There is something about true Christian fellowship that, once experienced, encourages and strengthens us. The mutual edification that one brother or sister gives to another is often unmeasurable by worldly standards. It can only be spoken of as the wisdom of God working in us and through us supernaturally.

There are many ways that the Christian is rich. Money can be something that divides and causes us to struggle when we lose sight of the larger picture of being a follower of Christ, but it should not be this way with us. In Christ we can rise above these struggles and rest in the riches that are ours bountifully in Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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