Grace For The Journey

  It is important, especially in our current economy, to understand the difference between a good investment and a bad investment.  However, in God’s economy, it is more than important; it is the difference between life and death!  The best possible investment in the world is the investment we make in expanding the cause of God’s kingdom in this world.  The worst investment in the world is the investment we make in expanding the cause of our own little kingdom.

How have you been investing lately?

The Bible says in Luke 12:16-21, “Then He [Jesus] spoke this parable to them: ‘“The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’  So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.’  And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’  But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you, then whose will those things be which you have provided/” So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and Is not rich toward God.”

You know you are expanding the kingdom of the self when the accumulation of stuff seems functionally more important and satisfying than a growing relationship with your Savior.  The man in this parable focused on expanding his own kingdom rather than the kingdom of God.

He wanted bigger barns rather than a bigger love and heart for God . . .

Which, in the end, is the worst kind of investment we can make in this world.

So . . . is there anything you could identify right now that seems more important and satisfying than your relationship with Jesus?  Where in your life are you investing your time, talent, and treasure to expand your kingdom rather than expand the kingdom of God?

The poorest man in the world who knows God and lives for Him

is worth more than the richest man without Him.

Another sign that you are working to expand the kingdom of self is your focus to store up for yourself the stuff of this life: more money . . . newer clothes . . . a bigger house . . . a fancier car . . . a better body.  In and of themselves, none of these things are bad; they can actually be good gifts from a gracious God.

But when good things become ultimate things they become bad things.

We declare to a watching world what is most important to us simply by the evidence of what we desire most in this life.

What do you desire most in life?

Jesus’ parable challenges each of us to examine our heart to see exactly what it is beating for.  Jesus wants us to be thinking beyond the stuff of this world and all that we are working to accumulate to expand the cause of our little kingdom.  He wants us to see how everything we have been given is to be used for expanding the cause of His kingdom.

As I said previously in this blog, good things become bad things when they become ultimate things.  There is absolutely nothing wrong accumulating wealth and enjoying the things of this world.  What is wrong is when we accumulate it without any concern for expanding God’s kingdom and helping others.

Let us examine our hearts today and consider what matters most to us regarding the good things God has given to us.  Are we simply satisfied with enriching ourselves, which is the worst investment in this world?  Or are we enriching the lives of others?

That difference makes all the difference in the world!

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”