Red Letters

 Happy Sunday!

“I promise you,” returned Jesus, “nobody leaves home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property for my sake and the Gospel’s without getting back a hundred times over, now in this present life, homes and brothers and sisters, mothers and children and land—though not without persecution—and in the next world eternal life."(Mark 10:29-30 Phillips).

Have you ever gone through your bible and read the red lettered words?  In bibles with this differentiation, the red letters represent things that Jesus said.  It amazes me that some Christians don't believe the Word of God.  And so many don't even trust the things that Jesus said Himself.  Why call yourself a Christian if you can't abide by, rely on, and believe the Word?  A rich young ruler had just come to Jesus in the scriptures before this one.  He insisted that he'd kept all the commandments since his youth.  Jesus said, “There is one thing you still need to do. Go and sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower.”(Luke 18:22 CEV).

The rich young ruler was sad, and the disciples were shocked.  They weren't poor as so many would like you to believe.  They were businessmen who left their businesses to follow Jesus.  They thought to themselves, if a rich man can't get into Heaven how will we get in?  Now, before you delete this email let's go to John 12:6.  Mary the sister of Lazarus broke a costly bottle of ointment and anointed Jesus.  Then Judas Iscariot commented about this action being a waste, and that it could have been used to help the poor.  The Word says, "But Judas did not really care about the poor. He said this because he was a THIEF. He was the one who kept the moneybag for the group of followers. And he often stole money from the bag."(John 12:6 Easy-to-Read Version).  Don't miss this!  He was the treasurer for the ministry of Jesus.  There was enough money in the treasury for him to steal out of it regularly, and no one knew about it, except Jesus.

What this rich your ruler didn't know was the Word of God.  If he'd studied the Word, and applied it to his heart and life he would have known the Word says, "When you help the poor you are lending to the Lord—and he pays wonderful interest on your loan!"(Proverbs 19:17 Living Bible).  It also says, "Those who help the poor succeed will get many blessings. When trouble comes, the Lord will SAVE them."(Psalm 41:1 Easy-to-Read Version).  One more for good measure, Proverbs 28:27 says, "Give to the poor and you will NEVER be in need."(GNT).

I remember singing at offering time, "You can't beat God giving, no matter how you try!"  We sang it in churches where the offering list on the next weeks bulletin would show small dollars amounts and some cents.  We sang it and lived in poverty.  This should not be!  God wants us to prosper, BUT in order to prosper we have to believe His Word.  We have to trust that His Word is truth.  We have to know that nothing we've ever given is lost.  God is faithful.

Love and prayers, Cynthia