Giving All to God

LearningToLetGo

LearningToLetGo

The Rich Young Man​

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22 ESV)

I have a dear friend who is very poor yet also selfless in her giving to others. She has been called upon at least three times that I know of to give up everything and go away to care for a sick or elderly family member unto their death. She has no home and no job yet someone always seems to step up and provide her with a place to stay and food to eat. Truly, this woman is an angel in the flesh.

How often have we prayed to God to give? How often to we ask what we can give?

I am both humbled and shamed by my lack of faith. Could I ever do as the seventy-two and set upon the road, taking no bag nor jacket nor even spare shoes and trust to God that I will be cared for and all my needs met?
 
LearningToLetGo said:

The Rich Young Man​

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22 ESV)

I have a dear friend who is very poor yet also selfless in her giving to others. She has been called upon at least three times that I know of to give up everything and go away to care for a sick or elderly family member unto their death. She has no home and no job yet someone always seems to step up and provide her with a place to stay and food to eat. Truly, this woman is an angel in the flesh.

How often have we prayed to God to give? How often to we ask what we can give?

I am both humbled and shamed by my lack of faith. Could I ever do as the seventy-two and set upon the road, taking no bag nor jacket nor even spare shoes and trust to God that I will be cared for and all my needs met?
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Hi LearningToLetGo,

Yes, we need to share more as we all have so much. Still, there is a balance, for unless the Lord calls you to give all then you would have to rely on others to help you. If the Lord called you to, He would supply.

I think the main thing is that we know God`s will for our serving and not just get emotionally driven by what others are doing. It is all the Lord`s work so it is important to do what He wants.

Marilyn.
 
LearningToLetGo said:

The Rich Young Man​

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22 ESV)

I have a dear friend who is very poor yet also selfless in her giving to others. She has been called upon at least three times that I know of to give up everything and go away to care for a sick or elderly family member unto their death. She has no home and no job yet someone always seems to step up and provide her with a place to stay and food to eat. Truly, this woman is an angel in the flesh.

How often have we prayed to God to give? How often to we ask what we can give?

I am both humbled and shamed by my lack of faith. Could I ever do as the seventy-two and set upon the road, taking no bag nor jacket nor even spare shoes and trust to God that I will be cared for and all my needs met?
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It helps to step back a little and remember that everything we have belongs to God. Even our most basic and prized possession, our life, belongs to God.
 
LearningToLetGo said:
The Rich Young Man
(Mark 10:17-22 ESV) I have a dear friend who is very poor yet also selfless in her giving to others. She has been called upon at least three times that I know of to give up everything and go away to care for a sick or elderly family member unto their death. She has no home and no job yet someone always seems to step up and provide her with a place to stay and food to eat. Truly, this woman is an angel in the flesh. How often have we prayed to God to give? How often to we ask what we can give? I am both humbled and shamed by my lack of faith. Could I ever do as the seventy-two and set upon the road, taking no bag nor jacket nor even spare shoes and trust to God that I will be cared for and all my needs met?
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Hello LearningToLetGo;

God bless your dear friend and she is in our prayers. We hope she is doing well.

How often should we ask God? We should ask this question often as our walk takes us through constant changes in life and growing.

I'll always remember when my wife and I enjoyed a season of plenty so our giving was comfortably the same which convicted me. Then there was a low season when we were in a time of need. I had to call our financer of our new vehicle and make payment arrangements until our situation changed. The financer worked with us, praise God!

Out of nowhere a brother and his wife gave my wife and me a love offering. He had a construction business as a subcontractor and gave out of his business profits. We were surprised. The next month they gave us another love offering.

This humbled us and in time things turned around in my employment. I do ask the Lord more often about giving, who and how much.

God bless you, Jason, and thank you for sharing this topic.

Bob
 
BibleLover said:
It helps to step back a little and remember that everything we have belongs to God. Even our most basic and prized possession, our life, belongs to God.
Click to expand...

Thank you for reminding us this.

Kind of puts God calling Abraham a "righteous" man for being willing to sacrifice even his own son in perspective. Even Isaac belongs to God.

The Bible is filled with such verses that seem anachronistic until placed in a proper perspective. A righteous man obeys God in all ways, even when doing so seems horrible. He called Jesus to die on a cross and Jesus obeyed.
 
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’(Luke 10:3-11 ESV)

This is what I'm talking about: trusting that the Lord will provide.

"Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals... Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you."

We have a very good lesson here. Do not worry about the mundane things necessary for survival. God will provide enough. When you meet someone (figuratively 'enter their house'), wish them God's peace and if they accept then you've a companion and friend (figuratively 'remain in the same house'), and if not -- then walk away.

It seems we try so very hard to coerce the world into being what we want it to be. How much easier to simply accept it for what it is?
 
LearningToLetGo said:

The Rich Young Man​

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22 ESV)
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I believe the purpose of this story is to peel away our self righteousness.
The rich young man's main question was...
what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? (v.17)

Jesus sent him off with the 10 Commandments (which have no power to save) v.19-20; (Rom 8:3)
Thinking he had kept all the Commandments, Jesus nailed him at his weakest point v.21

But the story goes on...the disciples inquired...
Mark 10:26 KJV
And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?

Upon which Jesus gives the death knell to all self-righteousness...
Mark 10:27 KJV
And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with [U]God[/U]: for with God all things are possible.

Thus bringing the conversation back full circle to who God is v.18
 
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