True Wealth and Eternal Riches

According to an article on Investopedia.com, Jeff Bezos, former CEO of Amazon, has a net worth of 144 billion dollars.¹

I can’t even tell you what a billion dollars looks like, much less 144 of them!

But seriously, I don’t even want to know.

Money can become the main priority in a person’s life – a serious distraction away from God.

Specifically, I’m talking about the self-indulgent pursuit of wealth which we can see, for example, on display in some celebrity lifestyles.

The pursuit of riches and fame are on display all around us, but these two worldly scorecards amount to a big “0” when it comes to our eternal salvation.

Does that mean that money itself is bad?

In general, no.

To emphasize, there’s a huge difference between being blessed by God with a nice bank account or choosing to let money pursuits consume your life.

In Matthew’s synopsis of the Sermon on the Mount, we find Jesus teaching the multitudes about, among other vices, the dangers of materialism and idol worship.

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. – Matthew 6:24, (NASB).²

Consequently, Jesus’ words here are eternally significant for all of us.

The Blessing Of Eternal Riches

Acclaimed poet, Louis Gander, recently published a poem that gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to the love of money.

To emphasize: true wealth and eternal riches aren’t in your bank account.

A Stubborn Lot 8-1-22

Can a penny buy a morsel of some dried unleavened bread?
Can a nickel have some meaning to apologies unsaid?

Can a dime hide a confession that we want to keep inside?
Can a quarter take the place of the regrets when we have lied?

Can a dollar buy a drop of love from someone we have pained?
Can a ten buy us full freedom, though it’s we ourselves we’ve chained?

Can a hundred cover up our sins so we can’t be enslaved?
Can a Million pay for all our sins so that we can then be saved?

Can a Billion buy a sliver from the cross where Jesus died?
Can a Trillion buy a seat in Heav’n so we can’t be denied?

ALL the money in the world can’t buy one SPECK of space
in Heaven where the God of Love bestows sufficient grace.

It’s loving dedication and full faithfulness we owe.
Our money is so worthless – yet we idolize it so.

We are a spoiled people in our air conditioned cars.
We’re over-entertained by our most favorite superstars.

We are a prideful people and we’re such a stubborn lot –
but owe to Jesus EVERYTHING and EVERYTHING we’ve got.

We All Need Jesus

If you’ve experienced God’s grace, then you know that all of the riches in the world can never replace the treasure of knowing His love firsthand.

Looking back, there was a time in my own life where money and fame were important to me.

However, once I came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, those pursuits took a nosedive.

In short,

We don’t “need” followers

We don’t “need” fame

But, we all need Jesus

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¹Quotation from Dan Moskowitz, financial writer for many investment online magazines. “The 10 Richest People in the World.” Courtesy of Investopedia.com. June 1, 2022. Web. Accessed 1 August, 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/012715/5-richest-people-world.asp

³Poetry courtesy of Louis Gander, ©2022 Louis Gander ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, “A Stubborn Lot 8-1-22.” [online post]. From Gander Story Poems, n.d. Web. Accessed August 2, 2022. https://www.ganderpoems.org/2022/07/a-stubborn-lot-10-1-22.html

Our Exceptional God

“Get ‘Em Lord” Prayers

August 25, 2020 Gracie

“Get ‘Em Lord” Prayers

Hands down, the most popular post on my blog, Delight-in-God.com, is an article I wrote called, “How To Pray For Someone You Don’t Like.”

In that article, Pastor J. Josh Smith shared valuable Biblical insight about how to pray for our enemies.

I’m just gonna say it – praying for God to bless our enemies isn’t easy to do.

Why do we have to do that when a “get ‘em, Lord” prayer feels sooo much better?

get 'em Lord

What’s Wrong With a “Get ‘Em Lord” Prayer?

We want quick justice when we’ve been wronged.

Think about that coworker who stole your idea and got all the credit and the accompanying raise.

Or, the neighbor who lets his dog trample your petunias and use your yard as a community toilet every morning.

Oh, that is so annoying.

Get ‘em, Lord.

From a biblical standpoint, we have to be very, very careful with a “get em” prayer.

A lot of it rides on the nature of the “wrong” we experienced and, very much so, on our intent when asking the Lord for justice.

There’s a huge difference between a mean person who irritates us, and an actual enemy of the faith.

What are Imprecatory Prayers?

Asking God to rain down His wrath on our enemies is called imprecatory prayer.

One of the synonyms for imprecate is to “damn.”

That’s pretty serious business and requires cautious consideration.

We know that the Lord Himself called out enemies of the faith, (the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees), in Matthew 23:31-33.

Imprecatory psalms, from David and others, and the imprecatory pleas in the Book of Jeremiah are some other examples.

Therefore, give their children over to famine
And deliver them up to the power of the sword;
And let their wives become childless and widowed.
Let their men also be smitten to death,
Their young men struck down by the sword in battle. – Jeremiah 18:21, (NASB).¹

That’s a pretty obvious “get ‘em Lord” plea from the prophet Jeremiah.

We have this verse from King David, in Psalm 17:13:

Arise, O Lord, confront him, bring him low;
Deliver my soul from the wicked with your sword – Psalm 17:13, (NASB).²

David says “with your sword.” – no mistaking what he meant.

Was that wrong of King David to pray that?

There is no taint of personal jealousy, spite, or ambition in these psalms. Rather, there is a deep concern for God’s people. There is a desire for God’s glory to be displayed. In the case of David’s imprecations, those who opposed the king opposed God, because the king was God’s anointed. In the case of the other imprecatory psalms, they are all national, not personal in character. The psalmists in every case had a deep desire that God’s plan might be fulfilled through His people for His glory.

Thus it helps to understand the imprecatory psalms if we view them in light of God’s purpose and in light of the psalmist’s attitude. He was not seeking vengeance or being selfish. Rather, he was asking God to vindicate His people who had been mistreated and to fulfill His plan through them. – Stephen J. Cole, author and theologian.³

What About What Jesus Said at the Sermon on the Mount?

Sermon on the Mount – Source credit, Geralt

On one hand, we have the imprecatory prayers and pleas throughout Bible, and on the other, we also have the very real command from Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount to ”pray for those who persecute you”.

To clarify: His imprecatory prayers were against enemies of the faith.

Using imprecatory prayers from the Psalms today should only be done against our spiritual enemies (Ephesians 6:12). Praying imprecations on human foes is unjustifiable, as it would require taking these prayers out of context. In the New Testament, Jesus exhorts us to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44–48; Luke 6:27–38), but praying for their death or for bad things to happen to them isn’t what He meant. Instead, we are to pray for their salvation first and foremost, and then for God’s will to be done. There’s no greater blessing than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and that’s what Jesus means by praying for and blessing those who curse us. – Got Questions website.

Seeking Justice and Get ’em Lord Prayers

Vengeance is the Lord’s.

Understandably, we rightly grieve when we see evil in our world, like sexual trafficking, for instance.

Pray against perversion, take a stand, call it out, demand justice and jailing the perpetrators. There’s nothing wrong with that.

God hears those prayers, and He hears the cries of the innocents.

He hates Sin, more than we could ever imagine.

It’s in our nature to seek justice in this fallen world, but it must be on God’s terms within the justice system that He has established, not our personal plans to retaliate.

This is a hard topic, so I hope this is helpful.

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³Steven J. Cole quotation is courtesy of bible.org. from “Psalm 137: Difficult Words, But True” n.d. 1993. Web. Accessed August 19, 2020. Retrieved from https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-137-difficult-words-true.

⁴ Quotation from gotquestions.org, from “What is imprecatory prayer?” n.d., para. 4. Web. Accessed August 19, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.gotquestions.org/imprecatory-prayer.html

Our Exceptional God

The Gift Of Our Savior

January 29, 2018 Gracie

God’s Gift Of Our Savior

An unexpected present

“Thank you. You shouldn’t have!”

“You didn’t have to do that!!!”

Have you ever said that to someone who gave you an unexpected present?

As humans, we appreciate a surprise gift, but it’s also in our nature to feel a little confused.

Uh oh, was I supposed to get something for him/her?

What’s today’s date again?

Similiarly, it’s hard for people to accept the truth that our salvation, as Bible-believing Christians, is a gift.

“Free,” as in we can’t earn it, even if we try.

We are well-intentioned people, but our good deeds could never equal what Christ did for us on the cross.

There is no comparison.

We are not “little gods” here on earth as atheists (who trust only in themselves) would have you believe.

But, what about that helpful thing I did for my neighbor yesterday?

What about that flat tire I changed for a stranded motorist?

Those are good and admirable things, yes!

Because you are a Christian, you want to and will do good things, but the very act of helping someone is not the hope of your salvation.

The Golden Rule

I’m sure we all remember hearing the adage, “Do unto others…” when we were growing up. There are also a few different rewordings of that proverb, depending on the source.

What does the Bible say?

Matthew 7:12 reveals these words of Jesus from His Sermon on the Mount,

¹²So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. – Matthew 7:12, (ESV).

We are to love and bless others – a reality of our Christianity.

What The Golden Rule Is Not

The Golden Rule, however, is not the foundation of God’s plan of salvation.

What is the foundation?

Not “what,” but Who?

Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior.

We are sinners in need of a Savior.

The gift of our Savior

Mere words cannot adequately describe just how marvelous!

There’s nothing you nor I can do that is worthy of what our Savior did for us.

Despite our unworthiness, our prayers to Him, in His will, reach all the way up to Heaven.

¹⁴And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. – 1 John 5:14, (ESV).

Life’s Purpose

Love Him, pray to Him, thank Him, delight in Him.

And love your neighbors.

Bless them with friendship, kindness, and compassion, and spread the transforming news of the Gospel.

You’ll get some rejections, but don’t ever give up talking about your faith.

Please hit the “share” button below if you think this post will encourage someone.

God bless!

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**Begg, Alistair. “The Great Marvels of Our God.” 26 January 2018. Web Access 29 January 2018. Used with permission. Copyright Truth For Life. Used with Permission.

Our Exceptional God