The Rich Life, by Lon Alderman

Luke 11:15-21
Then [Jesus] said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

The world screams at us to store up our treasures so we can live a life of leisure later in life. We place our hope of the rich life upon those retirement years. To make this happen, we expend every ounce of our life working. Sadly, how often do we hear of people that don't live to see their retirement? What then has all their effort gained them?

Jesus suggests an alternative. He teaches that we should be "rich toward God", instead of "stor[-ing] up things for himself". Living a life rich in God gives us the real rich life! We don't have to wait for retirement to enjoy His rich life. We can have this real rich life now!

Matthew 6:19-21
"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.

Invest your life in a rich life found in Jesus Christ!
Lon

Philippians 4:19
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Acorn Build Up: Prosperity

Prosperity

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I'm hearing a lot these days about prosperity. I've heard this passage from Jeremiah offered as a indication that following God will lead to prosperity. I agree, but with a deep concern for how we define prosperity.

One definition of prosperity is worldly wealth. One could deduce from that definition that if one follows God, then he will become wealthy by the worlds standards.

I happen to adhere to a different definition. I believe God's definition of prosperity is becoming the person that God designed me to be. In God's economy wealth is measured by spiritual maturity, not by the car one drives. I believe God's plans are to help me to be spiritually mature.

James 1:4
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Prosper in the Lord!
Lon

If you have time and interest, check out this video by John Piper about the "Prosperity Gospel":
http://stevenjcamp.blogspot.com/2007/07/john-piper-on-prosperity-gospel-one-of.html