FIRST THINGS FIRST. God promises us all the resources we need to live effectively on this earth. But the one thing that God does not do, He does not force us to accept them. He gives us the freedom to choose. His promises are many, however, to receive them you must meet His conditions. How willing are you to accept the conditions?

We are living in very challenging and stressful times in which possession, money, and wealth matter to all. However, if not careful, the pursuit of wealth will pull us away from what really matters, which is our relationship with God and one another. 

Satan uses the things of this world to tempt and lure us to him. However, the Word of God provides us with the guidance needed to avoid his trap.

In the Bible, God has provided us with practical guidance on how to live above the stresses of life, and we are given instructions on how to manage the resources He has given us.

In this series, from a biblical perspective, we will look at how to manage effectively the resources God has given us while prioritizing What Really Matters.

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Asking For God’s Guidance

Holy Father, Give us the heart and the will to follow the voice of the Holy Spirit so that we may keep our end of the agreement you have set before us. In Jesus Name Amen

If after pursuing you, like a rejected lover, there is a point to which God will leave us so that we can choose another. He presents Himself to His fullest only if we seek after him. Many seek God only when they are in trouble.

The Bible in Mark 12:37 says “the common people heard him (Jesus) gladly” (Mark 12:37). Many people in the large crowds who followed Jesus and heard Him preach were common people like you and I. They were open to hear what Jesus had to say. They enjoyed being in his presence. Thus, He fed them, and they listened to him as He spoke on the mountainside.

There Jesus told them that He knew their needs. He knew they were worried about taking care of their families. He knew they worried about getting enough to eat and drink from day to day. Jesus also told them He knew they worried about having clothes for warmth and protection from the elements.

After telling them he knew their worries and concerns, Jesus told them of His plan for their lives.

In other words, he said “I know what you are worried about, now this is what I propose.” His proposal is found in Matthew 6:25–33. Notice that it is bilateral, that is, His promises or agreement have two parts, our part, and God’s part.

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:25–33)

Many of the promises of God are bilateral in nature. To receive God’s part of the agreement, we must do our part. The agreement requires actions from us to receive the blessings God has promised.

For instance, God in Isaiah 26:3 promises us peace, but this promise is not unilateral. It does not come automatically without any action from us.  What is our part in this promise?

3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3)

What must we do to get this peace? Trust in God, and because we trust in Him our thoughts are on Him.

Here is another example. 1 John 1:9 tells us what God will do for us if we confess our sins.

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

A two-party agreement consists of “ifs” and “thens”. You will find these kinds of agreements throughout the Bible.

2 Chronicles 7:14 is an example. In it, God promises to do something for His people. But before He will do it, what must they do?

14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14) 

As His people, what must we do for God to keep His promises?

We must humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways.

What do these verses show?

All these verses. and many others, found in the Bible, show us that although God is Supreme, although God is our Creator and Sustainer, and although salvation is a gift of grace and on our part undeserved, we still have a part to play in the great war between good and evil here on this earth.

Of course, God doesn’t need our help to win this war. He is all-powerful. He is the One who made us. He is the one who sustains us. Nor does our good behavior earn us His mercy. But He wants us to choose Him.

He wants us to use His gift of free will and free choice to serve Him. We must follow the urging of the Holy Spirit and obey what God calls us to do. God gives us the freedom to choose, and our actions demonstrate our choice.

God offers us blessings and life. But we have the options to choose curses and death instead.

It is no wonder that God says in Deuteronomy 30:19

19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Which do you choose, blessing and life or curses and death? Choose Life!

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