THANKFUL

Chatting with Jesus

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Lord, after the Apostle Paul’s Damascus Road conversion (Acts 9), he traveled throughout the known world as an evangelist to spread your message of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation through you, Jesus. He depended on you to meet his needs. For those of us not born into great wealth, who hasn’t experienced economic ups and downs? I remember when all I had to eat were cheese sandwiches.

Paul warned his young protégé Timothy, how easily greed gains a foothold in a one’s life, even a Christ follower. Greed silently ushers in a form of idolatry since it takes our focus off Christ and onto whatever we crave more, be it wealth, power, fame, etc. Paul wrote:

“Greedy people fall into temptations that lead them to ruin. Their selfish desires blind them to what is important in life. Their love of money causes all kinds of evil and leaves them trapped trying to keep what they’ve accumulated. Their craving money or other abstracts has ruined faith and brought on problems they didn’t see coming” (1 Timothy 6:9, 10 paraphrase).

Lord, someone said having money is not a bad thing—it is bad when money has us. We need it to function in society. Since Paul depended on you to supply his needs, he learned how to live with whatever he had.

“I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.  I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11–13 NLT). 

Lord, help us keep our priorities in order. May we crave you more than anything else.

Thank you, Jesus. Amen.