Our Journey

Read Luke 12:16-21 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21

Every God-given dream will reflect the benevolent characteristic of our heavenly Father. He lavishes His goodness and resources on us, and when He provides, there’s always enough to go around.

In Joseph’s dream, he saw wheat sheaves, a symbol of God’s provision. The fact that there were multiple sheaves indicated that God desired to provide not just for Joseph’s needs but for the needs of others as well.

This concept of abundance is seen throughout Scripture and was manifested in Christ’s miracle of feeding the five thousand. The underlying principle in all these instances is that God has a heart to bless His people with provision enough to share. He does this so we can experience the blessing of giving that Jesus spoke about: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

People who have given to others know this truth. They’re happier and find more fulfillment in giving than in receiving and keeping wealth for themselves. This is true because we’re hard-wired in God’s image, and He is the ultimate Giver.

God wants to bless us with an abundance divinely determined to be enough to meet our needs and to share with others. Our dreams ought to be that we might always be in positions where we can share with others, so God can be glorified in and through us.

When we give, not only will we be blessed by being used by God, others will be blessed by having their needs met too. When we hoard, only one person’s needs are met. Yet both the potential giver and recipient end up empty because no matter how much we have, it is never enough. That was the lesson Jesus taught His disciples in the parable of the man who built bigger barns.

God called the man a fool because he missed the whole point of why God had blessed him in the first place—to share with others. —Bob Coy

responding What blessings from God am I hoarding? Who can I share those blessings with right now? How have I been blessed by what others have shared with me?
following We are accountable to God for the use of our time, talents and possessions.

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Genesis 12:10-16 10 Now there was a famine in the lend So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there for the famine was severe in the land. 1 I When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife. “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will soy. ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt. the Egyptians saw Mot the woman was very beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram.

There is not a word here [in our Bible reading today in Genesis 12:10-16] about asking God’s permission to go down to Egypt. Abram took counsel, not from God. but from his fears alone. To use a contemporary expression. he “pushed the panic button,” and down to Egypt he went. It was fear that dove him.

If the land is a symbol for us of the life of fellowship with a living Christ. then a famine in the land is any circumstance that threatens our dependence upon Him. It is any circumstance that makes faith difficult to maintain. Have you ever experienced such a famine? Have you been living in the full joy of fellowship with Christ, and the strength of God is your portion, and suddenly some circumstance beyond your control makes it difficult to maintain that fellowship? It may be a new boss who turns out to he an ogre; or neighbors who throw their garbage over the back fence; or a tiger of a mother-in-law who come to live with you. It is always some difficult circumstance of life that makes it hard to maintain fellowship with Christ. Perhaps it’s demanding labor that leave you little time for cultivating the spirit. It may be a bitter disappointment that crushes you, and your heart aches so that you can hardly find strength for prayer and fellowship. It mas be depressing surroundings that are hard to rise above. It may be misunderstood motives—you meant to do good. and someone took it wrong, and you has been cut to the quick. In short, it’s any temptation that seems more than you can bear, which threatens to cut off your very strength, your fellowship with Christ.

When this occurs, the temptation is to flee rather than to stick it out. We do not enjoy trials like this, and we try to get assay—physically, if we can. We move to another neighborhood. change jobs, take a trip, or go home to mother. If we simple cannot flee physically, we try to run away mentally. We escape to the unpleasant reality by a flight into fantasy. There is so much of this being done today—some retreat into a mental Egypt when; life seems much more pleasant than it is in reality. Whenever We attempt to satisfy the spirit by the same resources that worldlings have at their command, we has gone down to Egypt. —Ray Stedman

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Read John 12:12-16 12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” John 12:12-15

Whenever a city was conquered in the ancient world, the type of animal the victorious king rode as he entered a defeated town would make a big difference to the people. If he was seated on a horse, the city was doomed. It was a sign that he had come in war, riding his “warhorse.” If he rode a donkey, everyone would be relieved as this was a sign that he was coming in peace. (It is difficult to fight a battle riding a little donkey!)

This helps us understand why Zechariah said, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” Riding a donkey was a sign of peace. The king has not come to conquer but to forgive.

The rabbis taught that if Israel were not ready when the Messiah came, He would ride the foal of a donkey; but if she were ready, He would ride a white horse. Jesus went to great lengths to make sure He had a donkey’s foal on which to enter Jerusalem.

It was John’s privilege to witness both “comings” of the Messiah. Here, at the final entrance into Jerusalem, he is there, helping to guide the confused animal through the noisy crowd as the “King of Israel” comes in peace.

Later, after his account of Jesus’ life had been written, John witnessed the second and final coming of the Messiah by way of a vision. He had just gotten up after falling to his knees to mistakenly worship an angel. As he looked up, he saw heaven open, and before him was Someone he recognized, this time riding a white horse. Jesus had come to make war against the kings of the earth and the beast (Revelation 19:11).

They could not seem more different—the suffering Servant on the donkey who had just been weeping over Jerusalem, and the resplendent Warrior-King, eyes blazing like fire with many crowns adorning His head. Yet John recognizes both as his beloved Friend. —Michael Card

responding How does my understanding of the humble Jesus on a donkey and the righteous, powerful Jesus riding on a white horse fill out my view of who Jesus really is?
following Christ’s second coming is as certain as His first.

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Read Matthew 6:19-24 19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness…. 24 he will be devoted to the one and despise the other…. You cannot serve God and money. Matthew 6:19-24

Heaven is a place in the future of every Christian, and I want to know—Are you prepared? Are you really ready to go? I don’t just mean: Do you have the hope of heaven? That’s
part of it. Trusting in Christ also means recognizing that your life on earth should count for something, and you should lay up treasures in heaven.

Everything you have on earth will be left behind. But Jesus told us if we were wise, we would: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20-21). As Christians, this means we’ll one day receive rewards for our faithful service to the Lord.

What are you doing for Christ? Are you using the gifts He has given you? Are you serving Him?

I’ve found that the best way to live the greatest life in this world is to be more concerned with the next one. C. S. Lewis said, “Aim for heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.” So, as I aim at heaven, as I’m thinking about fellowshipping with God, earth will be thrown in. I can have the greatest life on this earth—not because I’m trying to obtain happiness or fulfillment, but because I’m trying to walk with God and please Him. The fringe benefit of living life for the next one is that I can have a happy, fulfilled life doing it. —Greg Laurie

responding God, I don’t want to store up treasures that will rust or destroy, yet that’s what I often do. Forgive my shortsightedness.
following Live your earthly life the heavenly way.

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Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, … 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-4, 7

Do you remember when you came to Jesus Christ for salvation? That was the time when it all began for you. When God forgives us and wipes the slate clean at our conversion, He begins a process called sanctification. This is the real work that He wants to do in us. This is why He forgave us.

The apostle Paul described the beginning of the process in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

God wants to change us to the point where we see Christ when we look at our lives—the same way we see our physical selves by looking in a mirror. He is transforming us one step at a time. Every little opportunity to display His glory, every little bump in the road of life, equals an opportunity to change.

What does that look like? Here’s a place to start: Is the fruit of His Spirit becoming more obvious in your attitude? Are you more loving, more patient, more self-controlled? Is prayer a more natural conversation between you and the Lord? Do you die more quickly to yourself? Do you obey His Word unconditionally? In small and large ways, is your life being replaced by the life and character of Jesus? If this is not happening, you’ve got to ask yourself, “Have I really asked God to be my Lord? He might be your Saviour, but not your Master yet.

God didn’t drop down into your life, forgive you, save you, and move on to someone else. He came to stay. He started something, and He’s not stopping it until the very last day that you’re on this earth. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
—James MacDonald

responding What fruit of God’s Spirit do I see developing in me? (See Galatians 5:22-23) Do others see me changing?
following Conversion is the miracle of a moment; becoming like Christ is the work of a lifetime.

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