11/5/2018
To all my friends who might find themselves reading this: have you decided how November is going to be for you and your family? What? You say how could I know that? I want to give you a couple of examples about how you can know. The Great Example is the Lord Jesus Christ, look how matter-of-factly He taught this:
Lk.14:28, For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Notice, the Lord didn’t say, “here’s an idea….” No, the strong implication is that only a fool would start something without knowing ahead of time what the expected outcome will be. How many of us trudge through our days not knowing if what we need or believe we should have is within our reach?
This thought pattern in my mind this morning is partly prompted by the SIMH today: “If I Were A Rich Man,” from Fiddler on the Roof. The singer mused, “Lord who made the lion and the lamb, You decreed I should be what I am. Would it spoil some vast, eternal plan, If I were a wealthy man?” Ensuing verses, he begins to say what he would do if…. As though he truly had nothing to do with it at all! We do not live in such a time. We live in the dispensation of the Grace of God. And one “grace” that is delivered to us at birth is the grace to do and be whatever we decide to pursue with all our heart (and if the heart ain’t in it, you ain’t gonna get it!)
Here’s another explicit line from the same song: “…it’s no shame to be poor, but it’s no great honor, either!”
Find your way to your King James Bible and read Prov.16:1-3, and see if the Lord agrees with your plan. Then, flip back a few page to Prove.3:5-10. All these verses call for trust. Do you know the Lord? Then who do you think you can trust?
So, lay your foundation, count the cost, and get after it. Oh, and expect to make constant in course corrections. Thinking correctly doesn’t make one’s performance perfect. Everyone has to greet the obstacles head on and do the bear hunt thing..Remember, can’t go under it, can’t go over it, gotta go around it!
Getting personal wealth is not the point of these principles. The point is to eliminate negativity and make progress toward a goal before you that satisfies your need whether it be a need to help some one or many who are not as well off as you, or whether it is a noble pattern you wish to set for others, or reaching the lost with the gospel of Christ, any pursuit you find yourself wanting to engage in is available for you.
Please don’t think otherwise. If you are 22, it should be thought to be long term; if 52, you can see some time limitations to gaining it; if 82, shorten your project by an expected time, or prepare someone to whom you can hand it off. The days may be long, but the years rapidly gather us in (often spoken by a good friend.) And if, on your journey, the Lord himself should descend from heaven and shout your name, forget the goal, the journey’s over: the prize is right there before you
Happy Pathway!
Thanks for reading, the Elder
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