The Richest Fortune

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: No doubt about it! God is good— good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people At the top, envying the wicked who have it made, Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world. Pretentious with arrogance, they wear the latest fashions in violence, Pampered and overfed, decked out in silk bows of silliness. They jeer, using words to kill; they bully their way with words. They're full of hot air, loudmouths disturbing the peace. People actually listen to them—can you believe it? Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words. What's going on here? Is God out to lunch? Nobody's tending the store. The wicked get by with everything; they have it made, piling up riches. I've been stupid to play by the rules; what has it gotten me? A long run of bad luck, that's what— a slap in the face every time I walk out the door. If I'd have given in and talked like this, I would have betrayed your dear children. Still, when I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache . . . Until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture: The slippery road you've put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions. In the blink of an eye, disaster! A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare! We wake up and rub our eyes....Nothing. There's nothing to them. And there never was. When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy, I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in your very presence. I'm still in your presence, but you've taken my hand. You wisely and tenderly lead me, and then you bless me. You're all I want in heaven! You're all I want on earth! When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they'll never be heard from again. But I'm in the very presence of God— oh, how refreshing it is! I've made Lord God my home. God, I'm telling the world what you do! Psalm 73 [MSG]
• O: Those who seem to have it made -- with all of the money, the fine cars, the fancy houses -- are really missing out on the big prize.
• A: We run into people every day who are more concerned with appearances and with impressing others than just doing what's right and being themselves. The media flaunts it at us every day, it's no wonder. Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight, all of the magazines in the checkout lanes -- even the local evening news seems to have turned into The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. We can find ourselves green with envy so easily. Hummer, Lexus, Mercedes. Cadillac, Lincoln, Infiniti. Fine suits, nice house -- all for what? We don't see their private lives often -- and when we do it's either been glossed over or the result of a tragedy. While my meager existence seems to sail smoothly. The peaks and valleys are more of a straight line than the mountains and canyons of the uber rich. Because I have what they may not. I have what their fame and fortune cannot buy. I have what the world can't take away from me. I have the richest of riches -- a fortune that won't preish with my physical body. I have the riches of Salvation and Eternal Life with God through Jesus Christ His Son. All the riches in the world pale by comparison.
• P: Father, help me to share the wealth of your love. Make it more in my life than just a silent prayer. Help me to make it a way of life -- to share your wonderful gift freely and openly.

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Provisions

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Isaiah 55:1-5
• O: God has already provided for us more than money can give.
• A: More on treasures. As man has made money the currency of life, God has made love the currency of life. By His love and grace He provided everything man needed in the Garden of Eden: fruit, vegetables, meat, all manner of food sources. Man, unfortunately, chose the forbidden fruit, and God took away the Garden of Eden. He did not, however, take away those other provisions. Plant a seed and the earth will yield produce. Take a cup down to a stream and find the refreshment of clear water (it is only in need of filtration now because of our own doing, not God's). And any patient, determined hunter can find meat for the next meal. Clothing is available from all of these sources, with a little ingenuity. This is not to say that we should live like "savages" and shun all modern conveniences. It is merely to illustrate that God has provided, and continues to provide, for those who trust in Him to provide. Upon banishment from the Garden of Eden, God gave man the curse having to toil for his sustenance. We must work for our food. He took away the ease with which we could partake of His provisions, but He has not taken away the actual provisions. Money is a creation of man. It is something that we have created and assigned a value to in order to facilitate easy and meaningful trade. Instead of bartering for how many potatoes this rug is worth, or how many sheep to trade for that, we now have currency in the form of paper money, which has meaning only because man has assigned it a value. If we did not hold money in such high esteem, the richest among us would quickly become the poorest, and those rich in the trust and love of God would be the wealthiest among us in every way.
• P: Lord, help me to recognize the ways in which You provide, to be thankful for those provisions, and to use them wisely. Help me to avoid the trap of assigning too much importance to money in my life, and to invest my time and energies in the truly important things like God and family.

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Treasures

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: Ecclesiastes 2:17-26, Matthew 6:19-21, Luke 12:22-32
• O: Treasures on earth are fleeting. You can't take it with you.
• A: The Bible says that where you treasure is, there your heart is also. Modern society has us trapped into a hectic work schedule. Whether you're trying to build up wealth, or just trying to make ends meet, you probably spend more time working for a wage than you do with your family. It is the curse of modern society. But it is a curse we have put on ourselves. Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." He told his disciples, "do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes." We must remember that there is so much more to life than work and wealth. "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work." All of the wealth that we store up on earth, though it might make our time on this planet seem a little better, is meaningless. For getting caught up in building riches on earth is merely a distraction from building those riches where they will really pay off -- in Eternity. My wife and I, like most couples raising children, frequently find ourselves wanting for more money, to buy this or that, to do this or that. Usually not for things that we simply cannot do without. Usually it's for the wants in life, not the needs. Jesus tells us to "seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to [us] as well." God provides for His children. We cannot take with us the physical wealth of this world. But the spiritual treasures that God wants us to build will determine where we spend Eternity. Where do you store your treasures?
• P: God, help me to keep perspective when it comes to building riches on earth. While wealth can seem to make life on earth so much easier, it can just as easily bring difficulty to those who are not good stewards of what they have been given. You have always provided the necessities for us. Help me to remember that, and to be a good steward of all that You have given me in this world, so that I can focus on storing up my treasures in Heaven.

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