Love this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I71XhjqoHvs

SHOUT TO THE LORD ALL THE EARTH LET US SING,
POWER AND MAJESTY,
PRAISE TO THE KING!

Jb

The more I learn about God and His character the more confused I get and the more I struggle. I realise over and over again that I simply do not have it all together. Maybe this is a good thing, at least God is my number one. I don't understand injustice and my heart seems hardened to it, I can't answer why Christians live in luxury when 30,000 starve everyday and I just don't not have a clue where God is taking me in the future. It seems as though I'm all mixed up but the amazing thing is that it doesn't matter. God is good and tells me that today has enough worries and everything is in control, I have nothing to be concerned about. Now that is special.

I've thought about this whole wealth issue a lot. I've talked with more people about it and have tried to get to the bottom of it. To be honest I have only more questions than answers, so I'm not really in a better place to stand. I have realised that the world has battered Christians with this idea that luxury can be justified, this is terrifying. I do understand that the Lord I love gives people more responsibility with more wealth and possessions, but is only a responsibilty to give more. God does not give us more for our standard of living to increase but our standard of giving to increase. Again, I do not have it together and I don't claim to even understand all this but how on earth can a God of Justice bless us with so much 'stuff' and not expect us to share. People are dying before they no who died for sin. Now tell me where your wealth should be invested, yourself and your living? Or for the kingdom's sake?

I believe our walk on this earth is about balance in many areas. Take for example your works for God. The works that He has chosen to use us for and the responsilities He has given us. You have to balance these. Too little and you become lazy and too much that you lose your fruitfulness. In the same way we need balance with our wealth. Jesus taught us to pray "give us our daily bread", this is a huge statement for us given the responsibility of wealth. Jesus is asking the father for only daily bread, just what we need for the day on a daily basis. Not extra and not less, only what we need, and yet we seem to forget this, we are given our daily bread and the daily bread for others. Instead of distributing out the daily bread we have indirectly kept it for ourselves in the west. I wonder why any of us even pray the Lord's prayer, we ask for daily bread but take more than that. What's point in praying that if that phrase is empty and void of heart. There is no point in praying if you don't take only your daily bread. The balance can be applied in this way: either side of daily bread is not good. We need a balance of wealth; too much is seriously unhealthy (materialism and love of possessions) and too little (poverty) is seriously unhealthy too. We need a balance so that the needs of everyone over the planet are met. There is enough, it's plain. God gives us extra for us to bless others. I believe that there can a new way of living and a new world. I could be accused of thinking like a communist (we what happened to that) for suggesting this equality, but I think there is far more to it. We are all equal before God, how about we show that through our lives. Like I've said before, in the slums of brasil I met people with only enough food for about 2 days, enough water for their family and friends, to us it would seem like they had nothing but infact they had EVERYTHING because they have Jesus. They had only their daily bread and were the happiest people I have ever met. Wealth in itself seems like it's a poverty too. Either side of daily bread there is poverty, however obvious it is.
While we were in Borneo Phil and Ray were reminiscing about their camping trips to Scotland and Wales and what an amazing time they had. Ray said "there is something special about carrying all you need on your back, you feel so great about it". It's the same feeling I had in Brasil after I was robbed and I can describe it as liberating to have only your daily bread.
The answer is not to sell everything and put yourself into poverty. As I've already said that's not the answer, it's not healthy. The answer is to take only what you NEED and allow God to give you your daily bread.
When the Israelites were taken out of slavery by God through Moses they spent 40 years in the wilderness and they fed manna and quail by God. God provided for them what they needed for the day. God recommended how much they should take for that day, only for the day. Some Israelites took more than their 'daily bread' (manna and quail) and by the next day it had gone mouldy and covered with maggots. Take only your daily bread! Apply that to our lives.
Jesus - "give us this day our daily bread". Pray it like you mean it. Be like Jesus. Love, Mercy, Justice.


Some people might not like what I say or have written, it's what I expect. I wouldn't be surprised if someone read this a came up with all sorts of excuses. Under the new covenant we are to be Christ-like, so be like Jesus. If this issues stirs you, don't play it down and forget about it. Don't get to the end of your life and wish things had been different. Don't drift and wait for a lightning bolt, we have got be like Jesus. Those with wealth, be challenged. Those with little, be challenge. Let God shape you and refine you. Let God twist you, bend you, break you. Let God be first in your life, let others come second and you come last. Be last and serve. Store treasure in heaven and not in this world. Cling not onto image and popularity for these are empty to God. Don't let indifference enter your thinking, but simply be united with God and fight for His heart.
Be challenged. You don't have to have all the answers. You can be a mess like me too. But whatever you do put God first and take only your daily bread.

I agree money and the desire for it isn't a good thing, however God gives as he pleases and it just so happens that some christians will have more money than others etc. God has blessed everyone with different talents etc, a footballer for example has recieved that blessing from God. He's therefore probably on serious money but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing, it may not be for everyone and myself included wouldn't really desire a footballers wage but as long as like other things, the money God has given you is used to his glory, to support others, to give back etc and not used for one's own selfish desire and earthly purpose then fair enough. Firstly, that's a lot lot easier said than done i should imagine with that sort of money, secondly we shouldn't judge others (not by any means saying anyone is) because we ourselves could well struggle with that much money. Finally, i once heard a clever point of being able to take your hands off material possesions, eg not holding on to them too tightly so your still able to focus 100% on God. I agree with what james said about money not being the problem, it's the desire for it.. that's when it gets dangerous but if God has given you money, we should use it to his glory and not our own desires.

Josh, good thinking. You’re thinking is going in the right direction. Here comes the response to your thoughts and mine combined. I know I haven’t seen you in a while bro and Boltie too so please hit me back if you’re not happy with anything.
I’m thankful that you found those verses, the first two I mean. I was thinking about the whole eye of the needle thing today! Crazy!
I was thinking about how when I first read that verse and took it literally, like a real size camel fitting through a needle which just isn’t possible. Chuckle chuckle. But then someone graciously explained to me that the eye of a needle in Bible times is the gap in the wall that people used trade through and sometimes take a camel through, however it was a VERY hard task. So after with more discussion it turns out that everyone seems to know this fact, well everyone in the western church. We don’t really know much about the culture is Israel 2000 years ago to be honest but ironically everyone seems to know this fact regarding wealth. It’s almost as if people are trying to justify themselves being rich. Why would you even worry about that fact if you didn’t have an inkling that we are rich? It seems more and more that it is becoming the western church’s get out clause with a mind-set of, “well it is possible somehow, so I guess I’m in that group”. Irony, yes, that this one of the few bits of knowledge every rich person seems to have.

I love what you say about being rich in spirit, it’s so true! Jesus says “you must lose your life to find it”, many people have little hope and way out of poverty but they truly do have wealth in spirit. In Brazil I’ve seen beggers share all that they have and no words will ever describe the joy on their faces as they share what they have. The world says something and the spirit is opposite. World says physical wealth and greed and the spirit says GIVE GIVE GIVE! We know that there is worldly and spiritual conflict all over because Paul describes it in Galatians, I can’t remember the exact verse at the moment.
It’s true that the love of money is the problem. But I will never believe it possible for a Christian or a human being not to hold on to money or possession (ie love of money). If a Christian even slightly holds on their wealth then that’s evidence they love it and that’s very very bad. It’s not possible for a human, in our fallen state to be rich and not love what they have. Impossible, we are all fallen.

Quote from your blog Josh “In the bible we see Abraham, Issac, Jacob, King David, Solomon, and Boaz to name a few. All were blessed with wealth.

"Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God." Ecclesiastes 5:19

Great verses but they are all from the old testament. I realise that the whole old testament is not invalid at all but Jesus came and turned our world and thinking upside down. Throughout the whole old testament we see God’s people forgetting their blessing and crushing the poor into the dust. “You have crushed the dust into the dust” and I mentioned other verses in a blog about Amos. As humans, they were blessed and forgot the blessing and also forgot the character of the God that created them, one of LOVE. They turned their backs on God and God abandoned them. Much of Amos describes the horrors of greed and injustice and what happens to these people. Jesus changed all this and called God’s people to a life of sacrifice, and to follow His ways. We must be like Christ, it’s plain. True, money isn’t the problem it’s greed. Greed is the root of the problems, our greed in the west and the greed of third world rulers.
Seeing as we have an obvious wealth in the west and an obvious greed, something is wrong. Some might say “i’m not greedy, I give loads. You have no idea how much I give”. My response: How much do you have left? Western greed is all consuming; it probably won’t stop until God steps in. Here’s some questions, and the ROOT of my thinking on the subject...
Christians are to be like Jesus, right? Yes.
Would Jesus sleep well at night knowing 1 billion people go to bed hungry? No
Would Jesus store up treasures on the earth when others starve to death? No
Would Jesus turn His back on 30,000 children starving to death everyday? No
Would Jesus go on holiday when the money would certainly save lives? NO
Would Jesus go to war? No
Would Jesus love EVERYONE, live a perfect life of sacrifice for others, die for the world, love, give and give and give and give and give and give? YES.
We are called to be Christ-like. Jesus would not be rich... ever. There are far too many injustices in this world for a Christian to even think about holding onto wealth. You could even look at my mess of a life, I buy too much I know. However, I am praying and praying with all my heart that I can overcome this problem and be happy with who I am and not chase after image. It must stop, I know.

Glory to God, you know how we do.

Just got up, had breakfast and saw 2 ladies coming to my front door. Assumed they would be trying to sell junk or whatever so didn't really fancy going to the door but i did. First thing they said to me was something along the lines of "we've come to tell you about the bible and what it says about what will take place" at that point my heart went out to them and just couldn't believe one lady who must of been about 75 (not even joking) who could barely walk with a walking stick is currently walking around moreton hall estate knocking on people's door's to spread the good news of Jesus Christ! Amazing. I should of invited them in for a drink but house is full of suitcase's so i didn't... now i feel ashamed i didn't, poor from me. Praise God for them. Anyway, looking forward to tonight and still buzzing from sunday. On the way back to mine we had tim hughes happy day playing at full volume in simon's car after an awesome time at callum's. It was so good simon had to take a detour to make sure the song could finish before we got back.. twice. Not bad for a first day back home after a year of being away a lot :) Anyway i need to get on with the task of unpacking which i keep putting off, then i'm off to hit a few tennis balls this afternoon, even though i'm on a rest week. Nightmare!!

I was reading through James' latest blog on his personal page here and noticed that it was based on what I feel (from reading his blogs and chatting to him) is his main challenge. And that is earthly riches..

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Mark 10:25

It so clearly states in the bible that:

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." 1 Timothy 6:10

However I begin this blog by giving a 'quick' answer to the title question. Immediately when I thought of the question, I said No! That would mean that a poor Christian would infact be more holy; which would, seem plausible. But then if we quickly delve, to a scenario of a Christian that is a poor steward of his money, wastes it/gambles/loses it and becomes poor, then the 'quick' answer to this question would have them as a holier Christian.. If you see where my mind has taken me yeah..

God looks at the relationship we have to the money.

Now I chose the word rich for the question in a loose monetary sense. I see the word rich as a state of mind it's an attitude, wealth on the other hand is how much you have (whether it's money in the bank, houses, cars, investments)..
It fits so clearly with what James has seen on his travels abroad and in this country. The people he meets, have no possessions, no money, they are what we would say 'don't have a penny to their name' but they are far from poor. In a monetary sense, yes. But on a spiritual level, my word they are rich and abundantly so..

Now I can't really seem to get over how in my head, i'm working out about Rich and Wealth and whatever, so I apologise if this is not making sense or contradicting definitions and things. So i'm going to quickly brainstorm

Rich - Fat, Abundance, Affluent, Deep, Strong
Wealth - The state when you are rich, plentiful, accumulated assets, Affluent.
**Argh where is my head taking me :D**

In the bible we see Abraham, Issac, Jacob, King David, Solomon, and Boaz to name a few. All were blessed with wealth.

"Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God." Ecclesiastes 5:19

The rich will have to guard against making money their God, and the Bible warns the rich to be ready to distribute to those who have need. This is what I feel is the major problem we have in the world today, and as James so clearly recites when he comes back from mission trips. We see it every day on the news of our greed.

Now not everyone is called to sell and give up all they have to serve God and to give to those with little, but make sure your ears and heart aren't blocked with money and possessions, so that when God comes asking you to follow him you don't miss Him..

Josh

Was great to have Bolty back in the fellowship tonight, and after a challenging and thought provoking service lead by Gav.. The boys (consisting tonight of: Simon, Me, Bolty, Calum and Hugh) decided to get down to some serious prayer time..

As a group we have so much to be thankful for, and to praise God for; and also so much to ask from God and to seek, and to ask for help in..

We have such a special bond as a group, and we all help each other, even when parts of the group are away..

We are looking at starting prayer times for our group after tuesday prayer meetings, and doing a bible study on wednesday nights..

After going a while without linking up as a POWERFUL unit for prayer.. it makes me just want to do it every day..
What a feeling. I love the boys. I love the Lord. He is so good. And His love endures forever :)




Josh

It's Sunday afternoon, in Borneo and it's scorching hot! We have just returned from an amazing wedding this morning in the nearby village of Manggala, which was a huge success. A Dutch lady got married to an Indonesian man, which caused a bit of a stir as westerners don't normally marry people from Borneo. The church was full and it was a great experience.
At the moment I am looking ahead to Bible school, I start in about 3 weeks, and also looking back over 2009. It's safe to say it's been another blessed year for me, jam packed with lessons and experiences. I don't normally like to dwell on anything that has pasted at all, but I'll take some time to share another lesson.

It's been a year filled with children. I haven't even chosen to work with kids, it just kind of happened and by the end of the summer term I was working with 5 kids groups every week on top of my gardening work (I did get VERY tired at some points but it was worth it). From Foy, to Lawshall (Sparkz) to Rougham Raiders football team, it's been a real journey and the kids have taught me so much. Children have an amazing way about them, you don't have a to a brainbox to work that one out. There is something beautiful about their innocence, the way they believe anything you tell them and the way they will do anything you tell them. I've usually found the older they get the less they believe you and the more they reason.
There is a huge lesson for us there, especially me. In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus talks about having a faith like the little children and I can easily see what He meant by it. "Unless you change and become like these little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven" were His words to the people around Him. You see, if you ask a child to do something or tell them to believe something they do it, they believe you. However, if you ask an adult to believe something or to do something the response is usually different. Jesus calls for a faith that believes and acts out God's will. A faith that does anything simply because that is what God says, without reasoning, without unbelief, without questions. A faith like a child is essential when serving God.
I have been blessed enough to go to many different places and work with children, and I have seen how they are all over the world, the same. The same willingness to do and go, they really are a blessing to us ol' reasoners. As Christians we need to stop making excuses and ways out ("but my mortgage, my family, my job") of doing things and have the simple faith like a child and do it. We don't need to go deep into theological issues and be way too clever for our own good, what we need is go back to believing like a child. As we've got old, we've got spoilt. If you tell a child that God preforms miracles today through ordinary people, they believe it. However, if you were to tell that to many adult an air of scepticism creeps in.
Lord forgive our own reasoning and unbelief. God, you can do anything!

God you are good and your steadfast love endures forever.. thankyou for sending your son and for saving me..

I read a fantastic book recently, I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before. Even if I have, I'll do it again just to make a point. It's called the 'Prodigal God' by Tim Keller, and as the title may suggest, it's about Jesus' parable about the prodigal son. However, the book takes a life changing perspective on the story. Before, when I had only glanced at it my focus had been on the younger son in the story (the one who takes the inheritance and squanders it. Then wants to come back to the Father again). This book takes a huge look at the older son. Now, listen carefully to this because it's important we understand this story and who it was aimed at... Religious people. Jesus was telling this story to religious people too (Pharisees) and that's why they got so upset when it was told. When the younger son returns the father runs towards him and embraces him and tells the servants to prepare a huge party for him and even to kill the fattened calf! Upon hearing this news the elder son is not happy and questions why the father is even doing this for the younger son, 'have I not worked for my share?' and 'Do I not deserve my share?'
It's like the elder son feels as though he has earnt his share and desreves every bit. There is a huge danger for those 'religious people', because there is no way that anyone can earn there share of the inheritance. It's like saying that you can work for your place in heaven and that you deserve to be there because you have worked for it. I can see a lot of myself in the elder brother, which is why I can say what I am saying. Sometimes Christians can feel like that if they work hard and 'please' God, they can stand a better chance to get to heaven. This is what stopped me in my tracks: God doesn't NEED me. God chooses to use me. God will get done whatever He needs to get done without me. He can do it, He is God after all. So, it is with humility that we can say God uses us for His purposes.
I'm in Borneo, and this lesson can be applied here too. I haven't consciously thought 'I really need to do this to earn more from God and then I will deserve my place in heaven', or do I remember thinking it before (previous trips) but it still needs to be addressed with me at least. Whether it crosses my thoughts or not, I am very much guilty of showing traits of the elder brother. God doesn't NEED me here, He has chosen to use me. There is nothing I can do to earn His favour or even earn a place in heaven. A Christian just is. There is NOTHING one can do to deserve, earn or warrant the father's favour. The important thing is that I do not actually become an elder brother. That is a lethal situation. I wouldn't want to be that way and feel I have ownership over something. Or feel as if a deserve to own something. Or feel I should get angry when something is changed and I feel as though I have worked for it. I mean, I wouldn't ever want to feel as though I owned and deserved something when it truly belonged to God, and He should have His way. I wouldn't even to do that that a church, structure or even music.
Praise the Lord, He has shown me this and now I can be aware. The most scarey thing about this story is that the elder brother doesn't join in on the feast at the end.