Follow the Bible reading plan in the FBC Loganville App or at www.fbcloganville.org/bible

 Is being rich a sin? 

This is a debate that has been waged for thousands of years. 

In the Old Testament times there were patriarchs that followed God and were extremely wealthy. People like Abraham, David, Joseph, Job, Solomon, and more. 

In the New Testament Jesus was homeless and often spoke out against the rich. He taught such things as: 

“Don’t 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 neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24) 

“When Jesus heard this, he told him, ‘You still lack one thing: Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’” (Luke 18:22)

Are there conflicting teachings on wealth and money? Is it wrong for a Christian to have money?

Is being rich a sin? 

The answer is simple. It is not a sin to be rich but the failure to use your money to serve God is sinful. 

In Luke 16 Jesus taught the disciples that no one can serve two masters fully. If you are trying to serve two separate masters one will inevitably win your time, energy, and devotion. The one you are devoted to will become the one you love. If you devote your life to serving money then you are unable to devote your life to God.  

Using this logic, Jesus says that a person “You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13). Why? Because you will be intoxicated by serving money it will cause you to forsake serving God. 

Being rich isn’t a sin but it does bring other temptations for us to be less devoted to God. 

Being “rich” could cause you to depend on yourself instead of God to provide for you. It can cause you to become prideful and arrogant. It can cause you to look at others as less worthy than yourself. It is sinful to put anything other than God as your primary pursuit in life. Many people pursue financial gain more than honoring God. 

This isn’t true of every person who is rich. Money is an item and items can’t force you to sin. They are just there. One person will use a baseball bat for recreation. Another could use a baseball bat to hit another human. The deep seated desires to sin cause us to use objects and items in ungodly ways. It is our desire for control, provision, and power that tempts us to use money for selfish purposes. 

Money is a powerful item. It can be used to serve God or serve yourself. Generosity can give life and hope. On the other hand, greed can bring pain and destruction. 

Investing, saving, giving to the poor, and frugal spending all are biblical ways to spend your money. The money you have has been given to you by God. Use it for his glory. 

Apply: 

• Would you consider yourself to be “rich”? 
• Keep in mind the world’s average annual salary is $18,000. (https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17512040) 
• Do you think about money more than you think about God? 
• Do you spend more time trying to get more money or get closer to God? 
• Are you using the money that God has given you to serve God and others? 

Respond: 

Pray for God to reveal any unhealthy motives to gain wealth and to build your personal kingdom instead of the kingdom of God. Thank God for the money you have and pray for wisdom to spend it as God desires.

Want to receive devotions to your email inbox Monday-Friday? Join today and receive devotions each morning. Subscribe to the email list.

The F260 NT Bible reading plan and HEAR Journal method is from Replicate Ministries. 

Follow the Bible reading plan in the FBC Loganville App or at www.fbcloganville.org/bible

In Luke 12 Jesus is teaching that our pursuits will either bring joyful reliance on God or an anxiety filled life focused on building your own kingdom. 

Luke 12:34 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Your heart – the core of your emotion, desires, and identity – will center on whatever you keep around you. Another way to say it – the things you surround yourself with will shape the core of your life. 

Do you treasure financial gain above everything else? That pursuit will create a greedy life. 

Do you treasure fame and recognition? That pursuit will create a self-centered life. 

Do you treasure comfort? That pursuit will stunt your spiritual and relational growth. 

Perhaps it is something else. 

What do you treasure? What consumes your thinking? What are you pursuing? 

In this passage of Luke 12 Jesus tells us that pursuing material or temporal things will bring anxiety and stress. 

Humans were not created to build our own kingdoms but to build the kingdom of God. 

We were not created to be kings but servants. 

We were not created to receive praise but to extend praise to God. 

The Christian life isn’t free of stress and anxiety.

The difference is in our pursuit.

The Christian pursues Jesus – who frees us from stress.

The non-Christian pursues self-sufficiency – which produces stress because the world and our lives are out of our control. 

What does it mean to seek his kingdom? 

Apply: 

How to seek the kingdom: 

• Setting your focus on Jesus above the material and temporal.
• Praying for God to be your provision and source of life.
• Seek the blessings that come from the kingdom of God – not the world.
• Realizing that the material and temporal will not bring security and life that is found in Jesus. 
• Use your resources (time, money, spiritual gifts, etc) to share the Gospel and build the kingdom of God. 

Respond: 

What is your treasure? Pray that God will reveal what your desire and pursuit is today. Repent if that pursuit is not building the kingdom of God. 

Want to receive devotions to your email inbox Monday-Friday? Join today and receive devotions each morning. Subscribe to the email list.

The F260 NT Bible reading plan and HEAR Journal method is from Replicate Ministries. 

Follow the Bible reading plan in the FBC Loganville App or at www.fbcloganville.org/bible

Praying The Will of God

Jesus had a habit of praying in the morning. Does that seem weird to anyone else? After all, Jesus is God. 

Why did Jesus pray? I believe there are two reasons.

First, Jesus stayed connected to God and the Holy Spirit through prayer. Yes, Jesus is fully God, therefore, he knows everything God knows. It may seem odd that God would talk to himself. We do not fully understand the Trinity and how God operates as three distinct persons while still being one God. Sure, there are characteristics of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit that we know and understand, but His communication between Father, Son, and Spirit is a beautiful mystery. Nonetheless, Jesus’ prayers show us the deep connection between Jesus, God, and the Spirit. Just because Jesus was on earth doesn’t mean he stopped communing with God. Jesus’ residence was no longer heaven but that didn’t keep him from communicating with God.

Secondly, Jesus prayed daily as an example for us to follow. Jesus had open, honest conversations with God and prioritized his time with God before any ministry task.

Jesus prayed in the morning.

Jesus prayed when he was busy.

Jesus prayed for people to repent.

Jesus gave thanks to God.

The disciples took notice of these prayers. The authors of the four gospels repeatedly recorded Jesus’ habit of prayer.

In Luke 11 the disciples asked if Jesus would teach them to pray. Jesus taught them a model of praying that we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”  

Jesus’ teaching on prayer didn’t end with the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus also said this about how they ought to pray:

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Luke 11:9-10

Ask, seek, and knock.

These three imperatives are synonymous in this passage – pointing to the importance of approaching God in prayer. Through Jesus, we have access to God in prayer. We can ask him anything. We must seek him in every situation. We can knock on the door and he will open up opportunities, wisdom, and discernment.

The next question I have is one I’m sure you have asked, “Is Jesus saying that every prayer be answered – no matter what it is?” You must have realized that every prayer isn’t answered with a yes from God when you through up a last minute prayer for God to allow you to pass your exam in 10th grade that you didn’t study for at all.

If some prayers aren’t answered with a yes then what is Jesus meaning in this passage? Did Jesus lie or was he mistaken? That is not the case. 

Remember the Lord’s Prayer? In it Jesus said that we should pray,

“Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10

Jesus taught that we are to pray the will of God.

If we pray in the will of God then it will be answered.

“For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” Luke 11:10

Jesus’ habit of prayer gives us an example to follow. We pray not to receive everything we desire but to align our hearts, minds, lives, and will to God’s. 

Apply: 

How do we pray with the will of God in mind?

• Pray honestly to God. 
• Don’t demand things from God but share what is on your heart and mind.  
• Ask God for his will to be done – not your desires or wants to be accomplished 
• Trust that God is good and will work for the good of those who follow him (Romans 8:28).
• Praise God for his goodness and greatness and that his will, not ours, will be done.

Respond:

Take the points above and take a few minutes to pray for God’s will to be accomplished in your situation.

Want to receive devotions to your email inbox Monday-Friday? Join today and receive devotions each morning. Subscribe to the email list.

The F260 NT Bible reading plan and HEAR Journal method is from Replicate Ministries. 

Follow the Bible reading plan in the FBC Loganville App or at www.fbcloganville.org/bible

Is it difficult for you to find peace in the chaos? 

Living in a broken world means that everything that surrounds you is broken.

We all desire control and believe that the more control we have the better off our lives will be, but we all know that isn’t true. How do we know that it isn’t true? Because we all have regrets. See, it is hard enough to control ourselves, let alone our surroundings. 

We arrogantly think that we know the best direction for our lives and often make decisions without asking God. 

It is dangerous to live life in your own strength because something will happen that will be out of your control. 

So, what do we do when we enter uncontrollable seasons? 

Plans have changed. Jobs have changed. The news changed. 

The good news for us is that Jesus is with us in the middle of the storms that we face – those situations where it seems like everything is against us, Jesus is still with us. 

In Luke 8:22-25 the disciples were in a small boat heading across the Sea of Galilee while Jesus napped on the boat. When they were on the lake a violent storm came out of nowhere and battered the boat. 

The Sea of Galilee is six hundred feet below sea level, in a cup-like depression among the hills. When the sun sets, the air cools; and as the cooler air from the west rushes down over the hillside, the wind churns the lake. These storms popped up quickly because of the geography of the land. There was little warning that a storm was coming in over the Sea. 

Even today the situation is the same – powerboats remained docked during some of these storms. You could imagine the fear if you were in a wooden boat with only oars and sails. 

Find Peace In The Chaos

The disciples were straining against the wind paddling away with an oar. They made little progress. Alone, cold, dark, with waves all around them. 

Seven of the disciples were fishermen – Andrew, Simon Peter, James, John, Thomas, Philip and Nathaniel – and would have been used to life on the water but this storm frightened them. The disciples believed they weren’t going to make it through this storm alive. 

So they ran to the only other person in the boat, Jesus, who was asleep. 

“They came and woke him up, saying, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to die!’ Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves. So they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were fearful and amazed, asking one another, ‘Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey him!'” (Luke 8:24-25)

Jesus gave orders and brought order to the wind and waves. 

In biblical times, storms were signs of chaos, confusion, and destruction. 

Jesus calming the storm showed his divine power. It showed that he is able to control the uncontrollable and calm the chaos that surrounds us. 

What Storms Are You Facing? 

Your life will be full of storms that pop up out of nowhere and threaten to overtake you. These storms could be issues that you caused, situations that others causes, or difficult moments that no one caused, like an illness or natural disaster. 

Whatever the reason, these storms can have you holding on by a thread and trying to make it out without being capsized.  

Can order be found in chaotic situations? Yes. 

Can hope be found in chaotic situations? Yes.

Can peace be found in chaotic situations? Yes. 

Peace is found in the presence of the Savior not the absence of the storm. 

Jesus is never out of control. 

Jesus is never rushed or in a hurry. 

You are not alone in the storm. The sea-calmer is with you. 

Respond: 

Pray for a few minutes to God. Talk to him about the storms in your life. Be honest with him about how you feel and the help that you need at this moment. Thank him that he is sovereign and never out of control. 

Want to receive devotions to your email inbox Monday-Friday? Join today and receive devotions each morning. Subscribe to the email list.

The F260 NT Bible reading plan and HEAR Journal method is from Replicate Ministries. 

Follow the Bible reading plan in the FBC Loganville App or at www.fbcloganville.org/bible

Not everyone feels compassion toward people who are in a difficult situation. 

Chances are that you have experienced people who have treated you with pity or indifference when you were struggling. A true friend is moved by compassion. 

In Luke 7 Jesus walked into a town called Nain. As he neared the gate a funeral procession was carrying a dead man out of town. We don’t know much about the man. Luke tells us that the man’s mother was by his side. She was a widow and her only son had just passed away. 

Jesus and the disciples walked in as the body was carried out. He saw the mother, walking with grief and a heavy spirit. Her only son was gone. Jesus looked at her with compassion, not pity or indifference. (Luke 7:13) Jesus had never met this woman before, but we know that the Son of God knew her even though he had never been face-to-face with her before. 

Jesus was filled with compassion. 

The Compassion of Jesus

Compassion: a concern for the sufferings of others.

Compassion is a core characteristic of Jesus. 

When he sees you, he isn’t filled with resentment or frustration. He isn’t motivated by obligation. Jesus pursues you even when you are not pursuing him. He is moved by love. 

Why? Because he is compassionate. 

Jesus sees you at this moment. Perhaps you are walking down a tough road and you wonder how Jesus would respond if he saw you. 

The good news is that Jesus sees you and he is moved by compassion. 

In Luke 7:13 Jesus said to the woman, “don’t weep.” Jesus wasn’t dismissing her grief. He told her to stop crying because he was about to change her suffering to joy. A dead life was about to regain its life. 

Compassion and love filled every step that Jesus walked to up Calvary as he carried a cross to his crucifixion. 

Jesus tells us to stop weeping over our sin because he paid our debt in full. We were once dead in our sins but, because of his love and compassion, those who follow Jesus are now alive in Christ. 

Apply: 

• What does it tell you about the character of Jesus that he is moved by compassion? 
• Are you afraid to approach Jesus? Are you keeping something from him because you are afraid of how he will respond? 
  
• Since compassion is a core characteristic of Jesus, it should also be a core characteristic of Christians. Are you known for your compassion? 

Respond: 

Spend a few minutes thanking God for his compassion and love. Confess your sins and ask God to turn your weeping over your sin into joy by receiving his grace. 

Want to receive devotions to your email inbox Monday-Friday? Join today and receive devotions each morning. Subscribe to the email list.

The F260 NT Bible reading plan and HEAR Journal method is from Replicate Ministries.