God?

[panda]

Really like the direction of this thread guys! Lots of great comments. GH, I agree and like your post above. Mety? I told you this before and I will am going to say this again.. God has gifted you as an evangelist. I am not sure if there is such a term, but you are like a digital evangelist. Poll shows 38.2% Christians in the house... Mety? continue to do what you are doing and light this place up and we will follow your lead

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I wouldn't call it a divided heart.

Your desire for money should be fundamentally different from your love for God, if they are not, that is when it becomes a problem.

Do you love your wife the same as you love your favorite food? Do you consider your heart divided between your spouse and your car?

Like GH said, the Holy Spirit will let you know. And I do like the father analogy... but that can also be applied to any relationship.

 

[Mety]

Sorry for getting too technical, but how do we know if something is getting in the way of our relationship with God?  How do we know if it's being put above God? Is it by thinking of it more than God? Is it by spending more time on it? Is it different for everyone? Can anyone share your own?

IHO says we want nice things and it's ok as long as that's not the only thing we want, but isn't that what Israel was pretty much doing as they served both God and other gods also? God called them out and said of them as an adulterous wife. The Bible I read seems to be saying God wants our whole attention, not divided heart. And it seems to be that money, which tempts us that we can get anything we want, is the very thing that our heart could be led divided mostly.

Am I still stretching? If you think so, please explain instead of just calling it out.

My thought on this is where the Holy Spirit comes in --- He will guide and give you discernment to know the answer.  The closer you are to God, the more you know God (through His word, through fellowship based on other brother's experience etc), the clearer the answer will be -- 

An analogy (i remembered from some message before -- probably a bad one but will throw out nevertheless) -- It's like your relationship to your earthly father -- If you are very close to your father and really know him inside out, you can probably easily discern if he approves or not on what you are doing without a word from him (or maybe from just little hint or reaction or even none at all).  But if you not very close -- it will be very hard to discern his opinion or reactions even if its staring right in your face --- I guess this is the same thing with our heavenly father -- the closer you are to Him, the more you will know the answer to your question

Thanks for your opinion.
You're saying as you get closer to God, you would know more/better how to handle with God's given money. I agree since money itself is also something God gave you or He allowed for you to have. But without being close to God, it's more likely that we would tend to love money more than God. So I guess the first step before anything is that we need to get close to God. God's word and fellowship with other believers, like you said, are good starting ways to get closer to God in my opinion also. Then, also like you said, The Holy Spirit who dwells in believers would guide us to handle rightly with God's given money. I guess this could be a lifelong process or journey with God until we meet Him.

 

[Mety]

Really like the direction of this thread guys! Lots of great comments. GH, I agree and like your post above. Mety? I told you this before and I will am going to say this again.. God has gifted you as an evangelist. I am not sure if there is such a term, but you are like a digital evangelist. Poll shows 38.2% Christians in the house... Mety? continue to do what you are doing and light this place up and we will follow your lead

Thanks Panda. I believe every believer is gifted with preaching the gospel in some sort of ways. Some might do well in podiums, some might do well in books, and some might do well in internet forums like this. I'm not sure if I'm doing a good job, but as someone who's received God's grace, I must keep continue to talk about Jesus and His love.

I find money many times get in a way for me and others to have relationship with God. And that is definitely hindering His love in my life and others as I encounter with other believers who are struggling with dominated thoughts about money. And they don't seem to have wrong reasons. They're trying to get rid of debt or tying to buy wife and kids good stuff. So they don't really seem bad, but I can see some kind of anxiety or worries we all have about these financial matters. We might not directly love money, but everything we do sort of ends up with dealing with money for my/our own benefits rather than other's.

I believe we, as living in a sinful human nature, cannot do this job of not loving money on our own. We keep failing and failing. I think that's what Jesus was speaking about as He was teaching the impossibility of rich entering heaven. As most of His teachings were pretty much telling us we can't live a holy life and be saved on our own, He kept telling His disciples and others to come to Him, the Way. How do we come to Him? As GH said, we can come and get closer to God by the work of The Holy Spirit as The Spirit guides us to live more and more like Jesus Christ. In the Name of Jesus, this access is fully granted for those who genuinely believe and admit one's sinful nature. That's where we repent. That's where we turn from going wrong. That's where to re-direct our lives. We might fail again, but the beauty is that God keeps forgiving us as long as we admit. I think as we mature spiritually, we wouldn't live a life of loving money as much as before, but I wanted to hear if any believers here had some practical things they do or exercise to not love money as much.

 

[Mety]

I wouldn't call it a divided heart.

Your desire for money should be fundamentally different from your love for God, if they are not, that is when it becomes a problem.

Do you love your wife the same as you love your favorite food? Do you consider your heart divided between your spouse and your car?

Like GH said, the Holy Spirit will let you know. And I do like the father analogy... but that can also be applied to any relationship.

Maybe you're good at dealing with God's money and don't feel like having a divided heart.

Of course I love my wife more than any person, favorite food or cars, but I'll be honest. I did have a thought of craving my favorite food more than wanting to see my wife. Again, maybe you're not as bad as me and perfectly love your family and God, but I fail time to time. And I need to repent and re-direct my thoughts as The Holy Spirit guides me especially through His words, The Bible.

You've mentioned before that it?s a human trait we all fail, but it doesn't make it okay to just bypass and not deal with it. We don't need to point out someone's wrong and try to deal with that. We should start with our own issues. I see these little things as sins and I need to deal with them before they pile up and dominate my thoughts. Satan can get very smart to do his work subtly.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I'm not sure where I said "bypass and not deal with it".

What I did say is to recognize our shortfalls and try to do better but not get down on ourselves whenever we fail.

My mantra is always look for the positive (just how I hope that Muslims and Jews may also get into heaven).

 

[Mety]

I'm not sure where I said "bypass and not deal with it".

What I did say is to recognize our shortfalls and try to do better but not get down on ourselves whenever we fail.

My mantra is always look for the positive (just how I hope that Muslims and Jews may also get into heaven).

Staying positive is good. I was just saying things we overlook might pile up and change our behavior and even attack our faith eventually. I'm not saying you said it's okay to overlook. I'm not trying to put you on a trap out of your own words or anything so please don't take it that way.

Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or whatever, the only way to heaven is by believing in Jesus, the Son of God. Believing in Jesus means you repent of your sin and have Jesus as your master. And Jesus said you can't have both masters but need to choose between money and God. I think the reason He was saying that is because it's pretty important and should not be overlooked.

 

[eyephone]

@ Mety
Only 1

 

[irvinehomeowner]

I guess I try not to worry about things that are unavoidable.

This is why my philosophy on real estate is what it is. You can save 5-10% by waiting but then you have to worry about timing the drop, missing out on homes you really like, renting, etc etc. Just get what you need/like now, trust that God will help you afford it, and be positive that prices will rebound (as it tends to do in Irvine). And if they don't, look at the pluses, you have have a place to live, you can make the payment and your housing situation is stable.

So should I say that instead? If you believe in God, your home purchase in Irvine will work out? Then I would really need to publish a disclosure.

 

[Mety]

@ Mety
Only 1

What do you mean only 1?

 

[Mety]

I guess I try not to worry about things that are unavoidable.

This is why my philosophy on real estate is what it is. You can save 5-10% by waiting but then you have to worry about timing the drop, missing out on homes you really like, renting, etc etc. Just get what you need/like now, trust that God will help you afford it, and be positive that prices will rebound (as it tends to do in Irvine). And if they don't, look at the pluses, you have have a place to live, you can make the payment and your housing situation is stable.

So should I say that instead? If you believe in God, your home purchase in Irvine will work out? Then I would really need to publish a disclosure.

What are you talking about real estate here?  ???

So sounds like you don't worry about money. I guess that's better than thinking too much about money.

 

[eyephone]

@ Mety
Only 1

What do you mean only 1?

You don?t know? Think about it.

 

[Mety]

@ Mety
Only 1

What do you mean only 1?

You don?t know? Think about it.

Sorry, can?t figure out what you mean. Would you please explain?

 

[eyephone]

@ Mety
Only 1

What do you mean only 1?

You don?t know? Think about it.

Sorry, can?t figure out what you mean. Would you please explain?

No. I can?t give you the answer. You need to think what the Bible says. Then you will find the answer.

 

[Mety]

@ Mety
Only 1

What do you mean only 1?

You don?t know? Think about it.

Sorry, can?t figure out what you mean. Would you please explain?

No. I can?t give you the answer. You need to think what the Bible says. Then you will find the answer.

Are you asking if Jesus is the one and only way? Then yes.
I didn?t ask for the answer. I asked you to explain what you are saying. You kind of did explain a bit more.

 

[eyephone]

@ Mety
Only 1

What do you mean only 1?

You don?t know? Think about it.

Sorry, can?t figure out what you mean. Would you please explain?

No. I can?t give you the answer. You need to think what the Bible says. Then you will find the answer.

Are you asking if Jesus is the one and only way? Then yes.
I didn?t ask for the answer. I asked you to explain what you are saying. You kind of did explain a bit more.

Think about it. The context of your message and how the other PERSON talked about other religions.

 

[Mety]

@ Mety
Only 1

What do you mean only 1?

You don?t know? Think about it.

Sorry, can?t figure out what you mean. Would you please explain?

No. I can?t give you the answer. You need to think what the Bible says. Then you will find the answer.

Are you asking if Jesus is the one and only way? Then yes.
I didn?t ask for the answer. I asked you to explain what you are saying. You kind of did explain a bit more.

Think about it. The context of your message and how the other PERSON talked about other religions.

The other PERSON you are talking about is Jesus?

 

[eyephone]

@ Mety
Only 1

What do you mean only 1?

You don?t know? Think about it.

Sorry, can?t figure out what you mean. Would you please explain?

No. I can?t give you the answer. You need to think what the Bible says. Then you will find the answer.

Are you asking if Jesus is the one and only way? Then yes.
I didn?t ask for the answer. I asked you to explain what you are saying. You kind of did explain a bit more.

Think about it. The context of your message and how the other PERSON talked about other religions.

The other PERSON you are talking about is Jesus?

The other person on TI. As he talked about other religions.

 

[panda]

Mety, I totally agree. Creativity is also an expression of God's love. King David loved to dance and also played the harp for King Saul. Ever since I was a kid, I loved to design, but it was dormant inside of me most of my 20s and 30s. I realize that this is a gift that God gives you and you have to nurture develop that gift for his glory, otherwise God may take it away from you. Therefore I designed this piece not for business purposes but to bless others. I also want to share about Jesus and his love through my designs. I really enjoy reading your posts as they are very uplifting to those who are believers.

"I believe every believer is gifted with preaching the gospel in some sort of ways. Some might do well in podiums, some might do well in books, and some might do well in internet forums like this. I'm not sure if I'm doing a good job, but as someone who's received God's grace, I must keep continue to talk about Jesus and His love."

Here is another one I recently designed.

Really like the direction of this thread guys! Lots of great comments. GH, I agree and like your post above. Mety? I told you this before and I will am going to say this again.. God has gifted you as an evangelist. I am not sure if there is such a term, but you are like a digital evangelist. Poll shows 38.2% Christians in the house... Mety? continue to do what you are doing and light this place up and we will follow your lead

Thanks Panda. I believe every believer is gifted with preaching the gospel in some sort of ways. Some might do well in podiums, some might do well in books, and some might do well in internet forums like this. I'm not sure if I'm doing a good job, but as someone who's received God's grace, I must keep continue to talk about Jesus and His love.

I find money many times get in a way for me and others to have relationship with God. And that is definitely hindering His love in my life and others as I encounter with other believers who are struggling with dominated thoughts about money. And they don't seem to have wrong reasons. They're trying to get rid of debt or tying to buy wife and kids good stuff. So they don't really seem bad, but I can see some kind of anxiety or worries we all have about these financial matters. We might not directly love money, but everything we do sort of ends up with dealing with money for my/our own benefits rather than other's.

I believe we, as living in a sinful human nature, cannot do this job of not loving money on our own. We keep failing and failing. I think that's what Jesus was speaking about as He was teaching the impossibility of rich entering heaven. As most of His teachings were pretty much telling us we can't live a holy life and be saved on our own, He kept telling His disciples and others to come to Him, the Way. How do we come to Him? As GH said, we can come and get closer to God by the work of The Holy Spirit as The Spirit guides us to live more and more like Jesus Christ. In the Name of Jesus, this access is fully granted for those who genuinely believe and admit one's sinful nature. That's where we repent. That's where we turn from going wrong. That's where to re-direct our lives. We might fail again, but the beauty is that God keeps forgiving us as long as we admit. I think as we mature spiritually, we wouldn't live a life of loving money as much as before, but I wanted to hear if any believers here had some practical things they do or exercise to not love money as much.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Is there some disclosure about talking about other religions? )