STUFF
ALOHA FAMILY & FRIENDS, Beloved of God and me. John 3:16
STUFF, “WORTH CONSIDERING” 4/15/20 From Ken<><
Today’s Scripture (Across my emails this morning from Texas.)
“…Those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing.” (Psalm 34:10, NLT)
Lacking Nothing
So often we think, If I had more money and more talent, I could do something great. If I had a bigger house, I’d be happy. But as long as you feel as though you don’t have enough, you’ll make excuses to be less than your best. You have to get a new perspective. God has given you exactly what you need for the season you’re in. You have the talent, the friends, the connections, the resources, and the experience you need for right now.
Psalm 34 says that because your trust is in the Lord, He will make sure you have whatever you need when you need it. You won’t “lack any good thing.” This means that if you don’t have it right now, you don’t need it right now. Our attitude should be, “I’m equipped, empowered, and anointed for this moment. I am not lacking, shortchanged, inadequate, missing out, or less than. I have what I need for today.”
A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You for the assurance that You have provided me with exactly what I need for the season I am in. I believe that You have equipped and empowered me with every good thing right now, and You will keep providing for me as I need it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Ken’s Thoughts:
Actually I picked up this expression along the way, long ago. “Where God guides, HE provides. The problem that I had when having difficulties with my finances, as I look back, was that I thought what I was doing, was actually my decision. It was something I was doing because I wanted to or that I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. And when it bombed out, I wanted to make God responsible for my decisions. A big ego will do that, you know. Back in 1976 or so I took every things that I had saved up, about $400K and invested it into an acre with restaurant, disco and 25 apt. units for the purpose of a ministry and church. All of the leaders in the ministry thought it was a great idea. Just one guy, that I remember, an old German friend, bee keeper, came to me personally before I bought it and told me it was not of the LORD. I should have listened, he was right and before it was over the ministry was destroyed and the funds were stolen when the property was sold. I ended up broke and taking jobs as a finish carpenter to feed my family way up a winding dirt road above Kailua Kona. It seems so right but totally burned out myself and a lot of good people who really loved the LORD. We kept the restaurant open 24 hours a day and could just make the bills each month. But the stuff got totally in the way of what the Lord wanted to do with us. We all took a wrong turn in the road and the Holy Spirit allowed us to see we were on our own road all by ourselves. So why did not God love us and pick up the pieces. Obviously, the blessings go with those who are in humility and obedience God can not bless our mistakes or HE would violate our negative freewill choices and our ability to learn by our mistakes. Humility and obedience brings blessing where pride and disobediencc brings destruction. It was a very expensive but profound lesson in humility and obedience that I chose to learn about in a very painful way.
So part of lacking no good thing is included in knowing and trusting in the LORD. This includes the factor of humility and obedience. Now on the back side of all that I went through in 1979, the Lord has been faithful in teaching me more about stuff. That life is not about the stuff but about every word that proceeds from GOD. If I had carefully studied the New Testament I could have avoided the loss. There is not one mention in the New Testament about collecting for a building or about building a building or buying a building as I did. Now I am not saying we should take all the church buildings down. But to realize that when a building program is conceived and started that the gifts and offerings are then diverted from evangelism and helping the poor to buying boards and stuff for our Traditional Church comfort zone. If fact we have made the building. our “Church Theater Tradition.” The Early Church in homes was an informal interactive forum. 1 Cor. 14:16-33 It required the quick training and mentoring of many pastors to do this. This is very difficult to do in our theater mode looking at the back of heads. And the Early Church grew very fast due to the use of small house church ministries and borrowing of larger places for gathering when needed for larger gatherings. As for me personally, I will never again support a building called a church. As the word church in the Greek is the name for the people, the fellowship. Christ Jesus taught that if even 2 or 3 would get together in HIS name that HE would be there in the Holy Spirit. That we could come together for church with others any time and in any place and HE would be there. So all the people on earth that are called by HIS name really make up HIS Church, no buildings involved. That there is but one eternal Church of Christ Jesus and all who truly LOVE & OBEY HIM are the members. And if you truly trust in the LORD with your whole heart that HE will supply all of your needs according to HIS RICHES and GLORY in Christ Jesus is my experience.
But I have received everything in full and more; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent me. They are the fragrant aroma of an offering, an acceptable sacrifice which God welcomes and in which He delights. 19 And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be the glory [a] forever and ever. Amen. Phil. 4:18-20 AMP
So we see here that the Holy Spirit touched Epaphroditus to help support Paul’s ministry and due to his obedience Epaproditus could expect Christ Jesus to liberally fulfill his needs. Sowing and Reaping, an immutable cosmic law of God. A dear brother, Episcopal Priest, once shared with me out of his frustrations: “My church is a collection of God’s chosen frozen dedicated to the preservation of the stuff.” They were sitting of five acres of very expensive land with a church building that held about 100 souls and their basic concern had sifted to, how do we pay the bills.
Then He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.” Luke 12:15 AMP
STUFF, “WORTH CONSIDERING” 4/15/20 From Ken<><
Today’s Scripture (Across my emails this morning from Texas.)
“…Those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing.” (Psalm 34:10, NLT)
Lacking Nothing
So often we think, If I had more money and more talent, I could do something great. If I had a bigger house, I’d be happy. But as long as you feel as though you don’t have enough, you’ll make excuses to be less than your best. You have to get a new perspective. God has given you exactly what you need for the season you’re in. You have the talent, the friends, the connections, the resources, and the experience you need for right now.
Psalm 34 says that because your trust is in the Lord, He will make sure you have whatever you need when you need it. You won’t “lack any good thing.” This means that if you don’t have it right now, you don’t need it right now. Our attitude should be, “I’m equipped, empowered, and anointed for this moment. I am not lacking, shortchanged, inadequate, missing out, or less than. I have what I need for today.”
A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You for the assurance that You have provided me with exactly what I need for the season I am in. I believe that You have equipped and empowered me with every good thing right now, and You will keep providing for me as I need it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Ken’s Thoughts:
Actually I picked up this expression along the way, long ago. “Where God guides, HE provides. The problem that I had when having difficulties with my finances, as I look back, was that I thought what I was doing, was actually my decision. It was something I was doing because I wanted to or that I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. And when it bombed out, I wanted to make God responsible for my decisions. A big ego will do that, you know. Back in 1976 or so I took every things that I had saved up, about $400K and invested it into an acre with restaurant, disco and 25 apt. units for the purpose of a ministry and church. All of the leaders in the ministry thought it was a great idea. Just one guy, that I remember, an old German friend, bee keeper, came to me personally before I bought it and told me it was not of the LORD. I should have listened, he was right and before it was over the ministry was destroyed and the funds were stolen when the property was sold. I ended up broke and taking jobs as a finish carpenter to feed my family way up a winding dirt road above Kailua Kona. It seems so right but totally burned out myself and a lot of good people who really loved the LORD. We kept the restaurant open 24 hours a day and could just make the bills each month. But the stuff got totally in the way of what the Lord wanted to do with us. We all took a wrong turn in the road and the Holy Spirit allowed us to see we were on our own road all by ourselves. So why did not God love us and pick up the pieces. Obviously, the blessings go with those who are in humility and obedience God can not bless our mistakes or HE would violate our negative freewill choices and our ability to learn by our mistakes. Humility and obedience brings blessing where pride and disobediencc brings destruction. It was a very expensive but profound lesson in humility and obedience that I chose to learn about in a very painful way.
So part of lacking no good thing is included in knowing and trusting in the LORD. This includes the factor of humility and obedience. Now on the back side of all that I went through in 1979, the Lord has been faithful in teaching me more about stuff. That life is not about the stuff but about every word that proceeds from GOD. If I had carefully studied the New Testament I could have avoided the loss. There is not one mention in the New Testament about collecting for a building or about building a building or buying a building as I did. Now I am not saying we should take all the church buildings down. But to realize that when a building program is conceived and started that the gifts and offerings are then diverted from evangelism and helping the poor to buying boards and stuff for our Traditional Church comfort zone. If fact we have made the building. our “Church Theater Tradition.” The Early Church in homes was an informal interactive forum. 1 Cor. 14:16-33 It required the quick training and mentoring of many pastors to do this. This is very difficult to do in our theater mode looking at the back of heads. And the Early Church grew very fast due to the use of small house church ministries and borrowing of larger places for gathering when needed for larger gatherings. As for me personally, I will never again support a building called a church. As the word church in the Greek is the name for the people, the fellowship. Christ Jesus taught that if even 2 or 3 would get together in HIS name that HE would be there in the Holy Spirit. That we could come together for church with others any time and in any place and HE would be there. So all the people on earth that are called by HIS name really make up HIS Church, no buildings involved. That there is but one eternal Church of Christ Jesus and all who truly LOVE & OBEY HIM are the members. And if you truly trust in the LORD with your whole heart that HE will supply all of your needs according to HIS RICHES and GLORY in Christ Jesus is my experience.
But I have received everything in full and more; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent me. They are the fragrant aroma of an offering, an acceptable sacrifice which God welcomes and in which He delights. 19 And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be the glory [a] forever and ever. Amen. Phil. 4:18-20 AMP
So we see here that the Holy Spirit touched Epaphroditus to help support Paul’s ministry and due to his obedience Epaproditus could expect Christ Jesus to liberally fulfill his needs. Sowing and Reaping, an immutable cosmic law of God. A dear brother, Episcopal Priest, once shared with me out of his frustrations: “My church is a collection of God’s chosen frozen dedicated to the preservation of the stuff.” They were sitting of five acres of very expensive land with a church building that held about 100 souls and their basic concern had sifted to, how do we pay the bills.
Then He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.” Luke 12:15 AMP
Yours, in HIS great love and wonderful grace and mercy, Ken<>< www.Trinity-Aloha.org
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