Good Wine, Fish and Bread

Sometimes, I wonder why we serve God. I mean, is it for spiritual things or natural, temporal ones???

Are we guilty of following God for the tangible blessings, or is it really because our soul longs for more of Him? I just have to ask, because too often, I hear the scriptures that relate to the blessings of God's children in an earthly sense, rather than a spiritual one. The verses that promise great spiritual blessings are reduced to simple get rich quick schemes when we are done with them (and so are many of our church offerings--they sound more like auctions, than a time to give in God's House).

God is not focused on giving us every thing that our hearts desire--that promise was never made, without a disclaimer. God is concerned with providing all of our natural needs--food, water and clothing. We don't have to worry about our daily bread, He provides it. Clearly, if God wanted every child of His to have every earthly thing that they desired, then every child of God would be rich and every wicked man (conversely) would be poor. It doesn't require God or faith to get "things"--if it did, there wouldn't be any wealthy atheists or agnostics. As far as natural things go, He wants to meet our needs, and He expects us to be the vessels through which all of His children have their needs met, as well--and that must be done before we take care of meeting our desires. We are not to take care of "the least of these" with what we have left over after we lavish luxuries on ourselves, but before.

In God's Word, are many verses of scripture that relate to our blessings. One of my favorite's is Psalm 37:4. "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart." At first glance, it might look like a ticket to Extravagance City. Look closer. Before He gives you the desires of your heart, you have something to do. You must delight yourself in Him; to delight yourself in the Lord, is to crave more of Him, and more of Him, so much as to be insatiable! When you arrive at that point, then He gives you what you want--MORE OF HIM!!! Not a bigger house, or a better car, larger diamonds or the latest apparel. Our problem lies in what we delight ourselves in. We have become distracted by the "things", and it is a very subtle trick of the enemy, because in and of themselves, there is nothing wrong with having those things. They are not wicked, they are to be enjoyed--but we have placed too much priority on them; they now come before people, sometimes before worship, often before fellowship and the adversary watches us and says, "gotcha!"

Remember, it's the little foxes that will destroy the vine. We see the big things coming, and are not likely to fall prey to them, but the craftiness of satan gets us at the point of our lust--of the eye. His job is not hard, either; because we use scripture to justify and satisfy our whims. There is one that is often referred to as a guarantee to health and prosperity for the saints, if they have enough faith! "THE ELDERLY elder [of the church addresses this letter] to the beloved (esteemed) Gaius, whom I truly love.
   Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers." (3 John 1:1,2 TAB) This is John's greeting to Gaius--not, in anyway a promise or a guarantee of anything. It is simply John (somewhat of a father-figure, in ministry) sending his wishes and hopes for a beloved son in the Gospel. It is no different than you or I saying (sincerely), "Be Blessed!" How can I be so sure? Let's look at some of the words from the KJV translated back to the Greek, to see what John meant. The KJV reads this way: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." The word "wish" is the GRK word "euchomai": a desire (not a promise). above:comes from the GRK word "peri": which means about (not first and foremost). The word "prosper" comes from "euodousthai" and this word means essentially "have a good and safe journey throughout one's life". That sort of puts things in perspective.

God does not promise us earthly riches or wealth--or even a guarantee of health in this life. He did promise trials, if we chose to follow Him. He also promised to make the trials worth our while, in the great by and by! We are impatient though, and we want it now--and, then. However, if we are to follow the example of Jesus and the New Testament Church, we will have to make some drastic changes--for their focus was eternity, and heavenly reward. Jesus called the "barn-builder" of Luke 12, a fool, because he was so involved in acquiring earthly things, for himself that he became poor in the things that really mattered.

I want to serve God for the spiritual blessings--the glory, more of Him. I want His face and His countenance to be upon me, guiding me and directing me. I never want things to come before God--or my neighbors, near or far.

Lastly, whenever the Word of God declares that God will give us the "desires of our heart" understand that it is always "according to His will". And, His will is to deliver us home safely. His will is for us to love one another, and to prefer one another. His will is for us to be bound together with cords of love that cannot be broken--in unity. His will for us is that our focus be on the eternal, not the temporal.

You can get "good wine, fishes and loaves" anywhere, but His glory??!!! Don't settle!