What would He want me to do?

Revelation 3:17  (ESV)

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

In Christchurch, New Zealand, there is a slimy pond, covered with algae and duck-weed, and not attractive at all by human terms. To most it looks more like a mud pool than anything else. In fact, it looks so awful that no one want to approach it. Better ignore it, as if it didn't exist! Maybe that will make it disappear!

Strangely enough, that waterway is filled with life. It is the home to water fleas, water boatmen, back swimmers, bloodworms and many other diverse nymph stages of insects. They are quite useful, as they feed on the algae, and in return, they provide food for larger organisms such as fish.

Everything on our planet has a purpose. But what happens if we lose our purposefulness and become complacent and indifferent? We become worse than that yucky pond, for that pond at least still has a vital purpose!

How can believers become so complacent that their influence on society has become more deadly than refreshing? How can believers stop being the salt of the world?

A church with a rich attitude can easily become stagnant, for they seemingly have no needs, and they depend solely on the dollars of their members. Don't like the current loudspeakers? Let's buy new ones! The members will pay for it. Don't like the building? Let's build a new one more to our liking. The members will come through.

One little problem . . . What about the poor, the unreachable, the addicted . . . ? If our focus is only on ourselves, we have lost our ability to be a refreshing influence on society, and if we have no impact on our surrounding society, we are completely worthless!

Improving the structure of our church can be welcomed with open arms, but unless it is really necessary, is it really worthwhile? What would Jesus do in our circumstances?

Laodicea used to be quite an influential city. When an earthquake destroyed parts of the town in 61 A.D., the city refused any help from the Roman Empire. They used their own resources to rebuild what needed to be rebuild. After all, this city was a mecca to wealthy retirees. As these rich people had retired, they considered they had served their purpose in society and thus, had reached their goal. As a consequence, they were completely indifferent to any social issues. They had become utterly complacent!

We can become like that quite easily, even if we are not wealthy, or even if we are not retirees. Are we individually making a difference in our neighborhood, or are we going to church for our own purposes? If we are not living stones, we are nothing but dead bricks that crumble into nothingness.

A rich attitude, which can be present even in less than influential citizens, will lead us to complacency. We need to constantly ask ourselves: Are we doing everything in honor of our Heavenly Farther? What would He want me to do?

Dear Lord, we pray today that our attitude would be in line with what brings glory and honor to You. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Rich are those who care for one another!

Matthew 25:40 (ESV)

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Carl Sylvius Volkner was a German missionary in New Zealand. His ministry began in August, 1861, and he worked with the Whakatohea natives. Under his leadership, a church and a school were built for the local people.

Unfortunately, he was not welcomed by everyone with open arms. The followers of a new religion named Pai Marire absolutely hated him, and in January, 1865, while in Auckland, he was warned to never come back to Opotiki.

Volkner loved these people, however, and he could not just vanish from sight to please those who hated him. Two months later he was back with his beloved people, but his enemies were waiting for him. He was arrested for treason, he was hung from a willow tree near his church, and then he was beheaded. His murderers then drank his blood and smeared it on their faces, and as a last affront, the leader, Kereopa Te Rau swallowed Volkner’s eyes, earning for himself the name of “eye eater”.

Though Kereopa Te Rau was the one who robbed others of their sight, Volkner was the one who brought sight to those who were blind.

Two centuries later, the eye eater was eventually forgotten. Volkner, however, was not. His heroics and love for God and for these people motivated the natives to name an island after him: The Volkner Rocks.

Volkner was one of those who was truly rich, even though it cost him his life. He shared what was most precious to him, and in so doing, he brought many who were poor in spirit to the kingdom of God.

Richness means nothing if we cannot sh

\are it with others. What are we willing to do to share the Kingdom?

Dear Lord, help us take the things that You give and share them with those around us that are in need. In The Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Where is your treasure?

Proverbs 23:4-5 (ESV)

4 Do not toil to acquire wealth;

    be discerning enough to desist.

5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone,

    for suddenly it sprouts wings,

    flying like an eagle toward heaven.

How can a town of 15,000 people disappear within 3 years? Is that even possible?

Here is a story of a city named Pithole.  Quite unusual, isn't it? I can't even imagine who would like to live in a town with such a name, but exist it did, in 1865, in the midst of the Alleghany National Forest in North-Eastern Pennsylvania.

It all started with the discovery of oil, precious oil. Not for automobile fuel, as cars didn't exist back then, but oil that could be used to light homes. Soon thousands of people, all seeking a get-rich-quick scheme, moved to Pithole.

The town was quickly built up to cater to the needs of 15,000 people. Hotels (over fifty of them!), shops, banks, bars, drug stores and even a post office, a theater, and a prison quickly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. And even more were planning to move there, all in the name of the almighty buck!

However nothing lasts forever and that oil ran out quickly. Without oil, the town couldn't sustain itself, and within three years, Pithole was little more than a ghost town, with only a few die-hards who were persistent enough to try to coax oil from those dry fields.

In 1878 the land that had once been valued at two million dollars was sold to Venango County Commissioners for the meager sum of $4.37. There are no buildings remaining on the town site now, and nature has completely taken over the exploits of men. Only relics of the past still remains, like rusting machinery.

The same thing can happen to any of us. Some of us think that credit cards are the answer to all of our problems: I am rich! But sooner or later we will have to pay it all back, with hefty interest.

There is no security in earthly possessions. This is why Jesus encouraged all of us: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt 6:19-21)

Dear Lord, help us have our eyes on the treasures of heaven. Help our focus not be on the treasures of this earth but instead how we can use them to further Your Gospel. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.  

Can Riches Make us Truly Happy?

Proverbs 28:6 (NIV)

Better the poor whose walk is blameless

    than the rich whose ways are perverse.

Are the rich truly free of worry? Or is it possible they are a bit more distressed than most commoners like you and me?

Let's think about it. Being rich is not easy at all. You have constant worry -- about your possessions, your protection, your investments ... It never ends! Imagine having to hire a multitude of personnel to guarantee a semi-quasi "peaceful" and less-stressful life! Lawyers, tax-consultants, insurance agents, investment advisers, body guards ... This list could go on and on.

When oil was found in Pithole, Pennsylvania, in 1865, it attracted a lot of people whose only goal was to get rich quick. But they soon realized there was a price tag attached to their dream. Equipment was costly, rent was costly, the parcel of "promised" land was costly, food was more costly in this neighborhood than anywhere else, barrels were costly, and even the transport of oil barrels was costly.

It's true that at first the transport fee was feasible: 1$ per barrel, which would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20$ in our day and age. But almost overnight the charge tripled to 3$ a barrel! Oh, there was a "good" reason behind the price increase: Carrying 360 pound barrels over steep, muddy trails shortened the lives of the horses and mules employed in this endeavor. And since they worked non-stop around the clock, they needed to be replaced regularly!

Now let’s take a look at the about the plight of these poor animals?

Then came Samuel Van Syckel, who saw an opportunity to become rich by cutting the cost of transportation back to 1$ a barrel. And he wouldn't need the help of donkeys or horses! Instead he built 5.5 miles of 2 inch wrought iron pipe, from Pithole to Oil Creek. In fact, he was the first one to successfully transport oil via a pipeline!

Until lengths of the pipe mysteriously were torn up in the dark, that is. It seems he had made some enemies with the rough, tough teamsters who ended with no more cargo or dying horses!

No problem, armed guards were hired to patrol the line.

And you can well imagine that this was not the end of the story. More complications were foreseen in the near future. We are talking about the mighty dollar after all!

Remember money can buy neither peace nor happiness!

Dear Lord, we thank You for the happiness You bring to each of us. Help us not focus on the things around us to bring happiness but to completely trust in You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

We Are Truly Rich.

When you feel like you have nothing, Just sit back and take inventory of what we each have in Christ.

“First , I have everlasting life (John 3:16).

“Second, I have a mansion in heaven (John 14:2).

“Third, I have peace that passeth understanding (Philippians 4:7).

“Fourth, I have joy unspeakable (1 Peter 1:8).

“Fifth, I have divine love which never faileth (1 Corinthians 13:8).

“Sixth, I have a faithful precious wife (Proverbs 31:10).

“Seventh, I have healthy, happy obedient children (Exodus 20:12).

“Eighth, I have true, loyal friends (Proverbs 18:24).

“Ninth, I have songs in the night (Psalms 42:8).

“Tenth, I have a Crown of Life (James 1:12).”

“Truly we are rich. Share the wealth with those around you.

Dear Lord we are thankful today for the many things You have given to us. We pray that we will never take it for granted but that we would share them with those around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.