Hello! Wow. Has it been 2 years since I wrote my last post? My goodness! hahahaha Well, obviously we've been in a global pandemic that has rocked our worlds and writing a blog post was the furthest thing from my mind. During this time, a lot of my mentality has changed regarding scripture and how to speak on it. I haven't felt led to write anything until I knew how scripture needed to be best told for people to truly learn Yeshua and not just "what are the Goliath's in your life" type of message. (That's a whole other blog post right there.)
So with that being said I notice so many people say "God told me x,y,z" or "God revealed to me that I would have [insert something positive, expensive or whatever]." Why is it that when someone says "God told me" it's usually (not always but usually) followed up with something positive like gaining money, fancy items, homes, cars, etc. It's never something that requires dying to your sinful desires or to repent from your sins. Because those personal revelations and dreams seem so real, we take it and run with it without testing the spirit (1 John 4:1) to see if it was God saying that or you thinking it. This honestly is a whole separate blog post that I pray to get into at a different time.
We want to receive the blessings of God right now (which we really need to have a whole convo on what is and is not a blessing). Matthew 6:19-21 says,
"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."
This is saying that material possessions are fleeting and can easily be destroyed. Our hope should be in Jesus and the promise of an eternal life with Him. Material possessions are not bad, however, the desire to achieve and strive towards certain things can give us a false sense that God is only in our life to give us stuff. We have turned God into the genie from Aladdin. We believe the purpose of God is to give us things, grant us large platforms to make us famous or make us rich instead of just being financially stable. Why is that bad you may ask? I'm not saying those things are inherently bad, but they lead us away from the Lord. One reason is because we are only worshipping Him/want a relationship with Him so He can give us stuff. It is not because He is holy, beautiful, merciful, just, gracious and gives us life. The second reason this mentality is an issue is because it neglects what the greatest gift to us is: Yeshua! He is our savior and should be Lord over our lives. Yeshua is a greater gift than anything we can ever purchase. If you limit God to solely what He can give you on earth, you don't actually love Him. You just love what He can do for you now. That's a one sided relationship and using Him for our own selfish gain/desires. When those things don't happen as we believe we were promised, our world is rocked and our relationship with God waivers or we completely neglect Him.
Matthew 19:23-24 says:
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Why is that? Because we have placed on hope and comfort in the material possessions of this world instead of directing our eyes to heaven and what will be there when Jesus returns for His bride, the church. The American church is so obsessed with material blessings as a measure of "how good God has been and if you stay faithful, you can have these things too." I'm not saying God cannot give physical, material blessings, but it is not the measurement of how much God loves us or how much we love Him. We forget that the devil knows what we want and if we are not actually living according to the Bible, we can open ourselves to receive the blessings from the devil. I remember Cardi B whose song was extremely vulgar, had so much cursing in it, and was contrary to the Bible, said that God blessed her with a number 1 song. God would not glorify our sin. His blessings should be a reflection of his holiness and point other to Him where they should have a reverence for Him. God will however, in his grace, give us blessings, comfort, protect and love us, not because of anything we have done, but because that is in his nature! That should be so humbling. Though I sin against him he still chooses to bless me and wants me to repent and come to Him. That should make us fall to our knees and praise him! When we truly see how amazing Jesus is and how gracious he is to us, we will see nothing else in the world matters. Matthew 13:45-46 says,
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it."
Now Meghan, God can give us the desires of our heart! Yes He can, but that also takes obedience and sacrifice on our behalf. As the Psalm 37:4-5 says: "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it." What are the key points in those verses: delight yourself in the Lord and commit your way to the Lord. Those are 2 crucial points that we neglect to do. We confidently sin against God without a heart to repent or change and we expect God to give us what we want. Sometimes, God will allow us to get our sinful desires because we keep living contrary to Him. Him allowing something to happen is not the same as Him blessing it. He at times allows things to happen because we keep ignoring the warning signs, Godly counsel, or Biblical standards that He has laid out for us. "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another." (Romans 1:24). When we surrender our hearts, minds, and lives over to the Lord, and allow the Father to be Lord over our lives, He will change our desires to be more aligned with Him. When we surrender, He will give us the desires of our heart because they will glorify Him and not glorify us. The blessings will point us and other back to the hope of Jesus and heaven and not just "how to get rich on earth". Side note, I know of people who will buy a large house to house people as a way of discipleship and guide young Christians to a solid path in Christ. Others may purchase a large house because they have a heart to adopt children and train up a new generation to love Yeshua and spread the good news. The Lord may bless us with large sums of money, but it is to give to others and spread His love.
So all of that to say, is it bad to have material possessions on earth, no. Can it lead to us idolizing those things and neglecting God, absolutely! Just remember, Yeshua did not have a place to lay his head at night. He taught told the rich young ruler to give up his material possessions to follow Him (Mark 10:17-27). While it's nice to have material possessions, it gives us a false sense of comfort and protection that we, though don't want to admit it, fail to put our comfort in Yeshua. Though you can be a follow of Christ and have a lot of material possessions, it is extremely difficult according to the Bible.
I will leave you with a few more verses and then I will get out y'alls hair! hahahaha Before the verses ask and pray the following questions:
-Lord, do I place my hope in earthly possessions?
-Show me ways in which I have put my hope and comfort in my possessions.
-What do I need to get rid of to best serve and honor you?
-Is there anything in my life that is offensive to you/dishonoring you?
OK! Love y'all and have a wonderful week! Ttyl!
~Meghan A. Harper
Matthew 8: 18-20
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
1 Timothy 6:9-10
"Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness."
Dear Lord, I pray we see how merciful and gracious to us, that in our sin, you still want to bless us. I pray we see things in life that we are placing above or as important as you. Please change our desires to be aligned with you and your desire for our life. Thank you for blessings us even when we don't deserve it. I love you dearly and I pray my life reflects your love.
In Yeshua's name,
Amen!
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