From Desperation to Devotion

C

Cturtle

From Desperation to Devotion
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
– Colossians 3:2
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Things, things, things! A better job. A bigger house. New clothes for the kids. Tomorrow’s luncheon date. A better television. Get the picture?

Many of us have learned to believe God to prosper us to such a degree that we have too much to keep up with. We end up spending so much time and energy taking care of the legitimate “things” of life that we unconsciously give the attention and affections of our heart over to this natural world instead of to God.

When Kenneth and I first heard about living by faith, we were in desperate circumstances. We were sick and broke, so it was easy for us to dedicate ourselves to prayer and to the Word. But as we honored God’s Word, He honored and prospered us. We came to the place where we were no longer desperate. Then came the real test of our faith. Would we serve God out of our love for Him instead of our desperation?

Well, praise God, we did. But in the process we found out one thing: It takes a lot more dedication to serve God when you’re prosperous than it takes when you’re desperate! There’s a constant temptation to get so caught up in the earthly things that your desire for the things of God fades into the background.

As the material blessings of God come your way, remember, God has not trained you in His Word so you can consume it on your own lusts. He has revealed His Word to you so you can walk in the spirit and do the job He’s called you to do.

Don’t let the things of this world cause you to miss out on the glorious things of the spirit. Get your priorities in line with God’s Word. Set your mind on things above, and you’ll discover just how heavenly life was really meant to be!
8Nki9gxgoPIOMNWCGe5lj0n96OYgJSEdiJyO_R_jDE58YmHKTWDa9O3K2ZeZLLjqvt4bTKH2f6tcz2ma91IAYMcz70v51VUNLVyyHlcou858kWC_ONN-uClwIvX7W7CwpEaf=s0-d-e1-ft

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-16
© 1991 Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc. aka: Kenneth Copeland Publications All rights reserved
 
When the scripture says God wants to prosper us, he means our soul will be fed He doesnt necessarily mean material blessings. I dont think He was talking about the economy either.

Another is that in the book of Proverbs, written by who was arguably the richest man on earth King .solomon, there is this Proverb 30:8-9
 
Lanolin said:
When the scripture says God wants to prosper us, he means our soul will be fed He doesnt necessarily mean material blessings. I dont think He was talking about the economy either.
Click to expand...

Actually that's not entirely true. If a person is going to prosper in all ways that the Father desires for us to prosper (not just money or things) they must prosper in their spirits first. Many places in the Bible that says that even in times of famine.. the Believer should be prospering, so that God can be shown strong to the people of the world.
 
Thats what I said, our soul will be fed. Why do you think I meant anything different. The belssings are spiritual, not material. God didnt promise us a bigger tv. He will give us His vision, not a television.
 
In times of famine, egypt was not starving but only because Joseph had that dream which he told PHaroah. It wasnt that egypt was a believing nation at all that people thought their nile gods must have blessed them with abundance.

Be very careful with equating material blessings with Gods favour. If only well off people were christians, that is not a testimony at all.
 
Lanolin said:
Thats what I said, our soul will be fed. Why do you think I meant anything different. The belssings are spiritual, not material. God didnt promise us a bigger tv. He will give us His vision, not a television.
Click to expand...

Actually you missed what I said. The reason for the material blessings is so that we can bless others... not just keep it for ourselves. The Bible says that God gives us richly ALL things to enjoy.
 
Oh I get it.
Its funny that rich people can be the ones who are the stingiest.

You have a better job why, because maybe you have more children to look after. Ditto with bigger house, more bedroom for the children. You have a better tv why because you want to share it with everyone in the household, and so you can invite people over for lunch. You buy new clothes because the children have worn out their old ones.

if you a parent, everything you have is actually not for you, its for your children. That is the way blessings are meant to work, to rain down from above, like a Father blessing His children. Theres no such thing as blessing yourself. You cant do it. you can only be blessed by someone else.
 
Lanolin said:
Oh I get it.
Its funny that rich people can be the ones who are the stingiest.

You have a better job why, because maybe you have more children to look after. Ditto with bigger house, more bedroom for the children. You have a better tv why because you want to share it with everyone in the household, and so you can invite people over for lunch. You buy new clothes because the children have worn out their old ones.

if you a parent, everything you have is actually not for you, its for your children. That is the way blessings are meant to work, to rain down from above, like a Father blessing His children. Theres no such thing as blessing yourself. You cant do it. you can only be blessed by someone else.
Click to expand...

Now take it a step further... as we have more material blessings or money... now we can hear the Father say "bless that family over there (who has nothing or very little) with groceries or pay their electric bill, or give them some of your clothes that you have not worn in a long time... etc.
That family may think God doesn't care about what type of situation their in... but as we have and are obedient to give... we can tell/show them God loves them very much, but the enemy has been keeping them without. And then they can see His love for them and when the devil tries to lie to them... they have the proof as they look at the things that He has provided for them through another person.
 
Thats it cturtle.

Some people dont realise they have over and above and so God doesnt want them to build yet bigger barns to store or hoard all their stuff but to give it away.
Plus maintaining it all can be a real drag. If you have two coats give one away to someone who has none. Thats a principle Jesus taught. There are people that are needy and hungry right in our communities that would appreciate it.
 
Cturtle said:
From Desperation to Devotion
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
– Colossians 3:2
8Nki9gxgoPIOMNWCGe5lj0n96OYgJSEdiJyO_R_jDE58YmHKTWDa9O3K2ZeZLLjqvt4bTKH2f6tcz2ma91IAYMcz70v51VUNLVyyHlcou858kWC_ONN-uClwIvX7W7CwpEaf=s0-d-e1-ft

Things, things, things! A better job. A bigger house. New clothes for the kids. Tomorrow’s luncheon date. A better television. Get the picture?

Many of us have learned to believe God to prosper us to such a degree that we have too much to keep up with. We end up spending so much time and energy taking care of the legitimate “things” of life that we unconsciously give the attention and affections of our heart over to this natural world instead of to God.

When Kenneth and I first heard about living by faith, we were in desperate circumstances. We were sick and broke, so it was easy for us to dedicate ourselves to prayer and to the Word. But as we honored God’s Word, He honored and prospered us. We came to the place where we were no longer desperate. Then came the real test of our faith. Would we serve God out of our love for Him instead of our desperation?

Well, praise God, we did. But in the process we found out one thing: It takes a lot more dedication to serve God when you’re prosperous than it takes when you’re desperate! There’s a constant temptation to get so caught up in the earthly things that your desire for the things of God fades into the background.

As the material blessings of God come your way, remember, God has not trained you in His Word so you can consume it on your own lusts. He has revealed His Word to you so you can walk in the spirit and do the job He’s called you to do.

Don’t let the things of this world cause you to miss out on the glorious things of the spirit. Get your priorities in line with God’s Word. Set your mind on things above, and you’ll discover just how heavenly life was really meant to be!
8Nki9gxgoPIOMNWCGe5lj0n96OYgJSEdiJyO_R_jDE58YmHKTWDa9O3K2ZeZLLjqvt4bTKH2f6tcz2ma91IAYMcz70v51VUNLVyyHlcou858kWC_ONN-uClwIvX7W7CwpEaf=s0-d-e1-ft

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-16
© 1991 Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc. aka: Kenneth Copeland Publications All rights reserved
Click to expand...

Hello Cturtle;

I enjoyed reading this message. It reminded me when I read of the circumstances the Copelands went through years ago and how our circumstances can be opportunities.

When we were newly weds it was a Wednesday, groceries were low and we only had a few bucks before Friday's payday. So we prayed and thanked God for the few bucks and remembered how Jesus fed the 5000 in Mark 6:30 and again the 4000 in Mark 8.
Thats a lot of people and it was only my wife and me.

After we gave thanks we walked about 10 blocks to save gas. When we arrived at the grocery store we bought a small can of tuna (the two fish) a loaf of bread (the five loaves), a small frozen can of lemonade and a small jar of Miraclewhip. We walked 10 blocks back to our apartment.

Colossians 3:16, 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Again, we gave thanks to the Lord and remembered His faithfulness to the hungry. The tuna sandwiches and cold lemonade was the BEST DINNER we ever had! We shared with our next door neighbors who were from overseas and never had a tuna sandwich before. They enjoyed it and we were happy to share with them, and we had enough (the twelve baskets) for the next two days.

We were filled with joy, it was very humbling and they were the best tuna sandwiches and had no reason to say, "sorry Charlie!"
lol!

We were totally content the rest of the week, all the glory to God. On Friday it was payday and I ended up getting extra because of the overtime I totally forgot that I worked.

Instead of limiting God we looked at our circumstance as an opportunity, to watch God do Great things with so little that we had.

God bless you and your family.
 
Sorry this may be off topic, but I read that manna means in Hebrew 'what is it?' Kind of like mystery meat.

Even so, Jesus said to the israelites your foresfathers ate manna in the desert yet they died. This is the bread that comes from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die.

A lot of people didnt know who Jesus was. They would say 'who is this guy? He thinks he's the son of God!' But Jesus himself is the living bread from Heaven. He also admonsihed those who only ate and had their fill of loaves and fishes he multiplied. Do not labour for the things that perish but for food that gives you eternal life. Those who come to Him will never be hungry nor thirsty.
 
SovereignGrace said:
IMO, and its solely that, my opinion, he needed more than an amen. Is it against the rules to post images like that? If so, please delete it. I wish not to break the rules. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Nope no Rules ;)
Spent enough time in some other forums to learn that some people make things like this a big deal and actually get a case of the ugglies and bickering starts.

Sure you gave seen it.
Blessings
 
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