Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from the group ABBA singing … Money, Money, Money … when is not a Christian song but powerfully illustrates the lure of wealth as an idol in Satan’s system, … the world.
Going, Going, Gone ... by the Artist, Banksy
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Highlight Verse[s]: Proverbs 23:4 [ESV] ... 4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
… God, thru Solomon, warns His chosen to avoid pursuing wealth.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Proverbs 23:1-5 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Studying the Book of Ecclesiastes, the wisdom of Solomon about pursuing wealth was lost on himself, wasn’t it?
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 6:19-21 [ESV] … 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[a] 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.
… Jesus clearly warns His followers about the dangers of making money an idol.
Reference Passage : … Luke 16:13 [ESV] … 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
… Jesus again warns that we cannot pursue the love of money and the love of Jesus at the same time.
Reference Passage : … 1Timothy 6:10 [ESV] … 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
… Paul reminds Christians that the love and pursuit of wealth can produce all kinds of evil.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Mike Wittmer, uses a true story about an artists prank to illustrate how we can become possessed by our love of money or wealth. … The ODB author wrote: The mischievous artist Banksy pulled off another practical joke. His painting Girl with Balloon sold for one million pounds at Sotheby’s auction house in London. Moments after the auctioneer yelled “Sold,” an alarm sounded and the painting slipped halfway through a shredder mounted inside the bottom of the frame. Banksy tweeted a picture of bidders gasping at his ruined masterpiece, with the caption, “Going, going, gone.” [see photo]
The “Going, Going, Gone” Banksy art prank is a clever - and some might say “cruel” - illustration of how our pursuit of prideful gain can be our undoing. Jesus certainly was repetitively clear about that, wasn’t He? In His Sermon on the Mount (see Matt. 6:19-21 and Luke 16:13), … Jesus strongly declared that we can’t serve two masters … the love of money and the love of God at the same time.
Solomon in the OT [see highlight passage] and the Apostle Paul in the NT [see 1Timothy 6:10], clearly warned the followers of God to avoid the “love of money” and making the pursuit of wealth an idol. So, we’re hit with another ODB self inventory, aren’t we today?
If someone were to look at our spending habits and our time scheduling in the past few months, which master would the auditor of our hearts say we are serving?
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Jesus, … for giving us a clear guide to serve You above any pursuit of wealth and fortune.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to recognize that our relationship with Christ is the most valuable pursuit in our lives. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>
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