Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

September 9
Wednesday


HOW TO
BECOME RICH

READ:
Luke 12:12-21
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Take heed and beware
of covetousness,
for one's life does
not consist in the
abundance of the
things he possesses.
__Luke 12:15
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I find it interesting that Jesus taught more about money than anything else. And he wasn't trying to ratchet up the treasury. As far as we know, He never even asked for an offering. The reason He taught extensively on the subject is that nothing clogs our spiritual arteries more quickly than money--either working to have a lot of it or wishing that we had.

Think of the man who brazenly asked Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me" (Luke 12:13). Amazing! He had an opportunity to "go deep" with Jesus, but instead he wanted deep pockets.

Jesus responded with a stunning, counterintuitive statement: "Beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (v.15). He then went on to tell the parable of a rich man who was wildly successful from a worldly standpoint--having so many crops that he had to keep building bigger barns--but who, in God' eyes, was actually a "fool." Not because he was rich, but because he was not rich toward God.

You'll hear a lot of advice about how to become rich. But only Jesus tells it to us straight. It's not about the money. It's about the richness of our relationship with Him and the joy of turning our greed into generosity. __Joe Stowell
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````````````````The riches of this world are vain,``````````````````
``````````````````````They vanish in a day;`````````````````````
`````````````But sweet the treasures of God's love__```````````````
```````````````They never pass away. __Bossch``````````````````
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Learning how to be rich toward God
yields eternal dividends.

************Today's Bible Reading __ Luke 12:13-21**************

13 Then one from the
crowd said to Him,
"Teacher, tell my brother
to divide the inheritance
with me."

14 But He said to him,
"Man, who made Me a
judge or an arbitrator over
you?" 15 And he said to
them, "Take heed and
beware of covetousness, for
one's life does not consist
in the abundance of the
things he possesses."

16 Then He spoke a parable
to to them, saying: "The
ground of a certain rich
man yielded plentifully.

17 And he thought within
himself, saying, 'What shall
I do, since I have no room
to store my crops?' 18 So he
said, 'I will do this: I will
pull down my barns and
build greater, and there I
will store all my crops and
my goods. 19 And I will say
to my soul, "Soul, you have
many goods laid up for
many years; take your ease;
eat, drink, and be merry."'

20 But God said to him,
'Fool! This night your soul
will be required of you;
then whose will those
things be which you have
provided?'

21 "So is he who lays up
treasure for himself, and is
not rich toward God."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<\

Luke's gospel account has several distinctive qualities. First, it
appears that Luke was not a personal eyewitness to the events
as Matthew and John were, but he based his account on careful
research (Luke 1:1-3). Second, Luke particularly highlights the care
and dignity that Jesus showed to women. Third, as in today's reading..
Luke has an intense focus on the parables of Jesus. __BILL CROWDER