To walk as Jesus taught!

Lord, You are my shield, my strength, my portion, my deliverer, my shelter, my strong tower, my very present help in time of need. Thank You.



Good morning! My name is Charlotte and I am writing to help us give our first thoughts to the Lord.

Thank you for your note and I do stand corrected. 1 Timothy 6 verse 10 says this
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

While you are right that God does want us to prosper and a lot of good is done of Christians who do have money, Jesus warns in Matthew 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Why? because so many times when you have money you become self-sufficient not looking to God as your source.

Solomon was known as the richest and wisest man in the Bible. Yet, eventually his wealth overcame his wisdom and his fall was great. He could have anything he wanted and he chose what he shouldn't have.

3 John 1:2 says Beloved I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers. So above financial prosperity and even above health is the prosperity of the soul. If we keep this in priority, we're in good shape. But (there's the but) if we don't watch ourselves we become very human thinking more of ourselves than we should.

I do welcome your comments. It keeps me on my toes.

Luke 6:starting with 31 says this

Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

I am reminded of a woman I once worked for. I may have shared this before. It was at a truck line in Benton. She didn't like women, but she hired me. She was something else - mean as a hornet. I finally had to just get before God and say, Lord, you are going to have to give me love for her - I just don't have it. She would only give me one pencil and I had to turn in a stub to get another one. After I prayed, the Lord would give me nice things to do for her - non-retaliatory things for her wicked ways. I stayed there three years and at the end of that three years, she cried when I left. Had she been touched by me? No, she had been touched by the God in me.

It is easy to love those who love you - that is what this scripture says. But the test comes when we have to love the unlovely....and not just skip by them. Even to lend to those who you know are not going to pay you back. We are to lend not expecting back - I believe that is giving, is it not?

There are a lot of people that call in on my job that are upset and not very nice. Some who talk to us ugly, which we all object to. Sometimes they will catch me off guard but most of the time by the time I have talked to them for a while they will calm down and end up thanking me for my help. A soft word turns away wrath and this has to be remembered sometimes when dealing with people.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you - treat others the same way you want them to treat you - to stop and remember this in dealing with others. How would I want to be treated in this situation?

Walking as Jesus has instructed us to walk is a different way from the human standpoint. To love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return - that is not the normal human way. The normal human way is 'you kick my dog, I'll kill your cat' type mentality. This is not the way Jesus taught us to be.

What does he say about living the way He taught - your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Father, help us live the way Jesus taught us to live. To love the unlovely - to treat others as we would want to be treated - to lend expecting nothing in return - to be the people you want us to be and to prosper in our souls as you want us to prosper knowing that properity and health will follow. In Jesus name we pray. Amen ( it is done)

Have a wonderful day!

Charlotte