What All We Have

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Deuteronomy 8:7-9: [Moses is saying to the Israelites,] "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing."

The Promise of Providence:
Think about this for a moment. Here in our passage is Moses is telling the people of God, who God cared for for forty years as they meandered through the dessert, that they were about to cross over the Jordan River into the land God promised them. 

Look at what is waiting for them. Everything that they would ever need is in this land. Food, water, and oil are available. No one will go hungry. You will have all that you need. It is there for them to receive after they cross the river.

God was providing for everyone all that they needed.

Where is Everything?:
"So, if God provides all that we have for everyone, why is there hunger? Why is there famine and drought? Why is there fire and destruction? Why do people go without while many stuff themselves silly? Where is God's providence?"

The answer to those questions, along with a whole lot more, will not come by blaming God for everything. God placed man to manage all of the resources of His bountiful creation.  And man is selfish. Man keeps for himself. Sharing is not in mans' vocabulary. Do not blame God for the "lack of resources." Put the responsibility upon inequality of the distribution where it belongs. It belongs on us. Mankind, because mankind is sinful, will not share. 

Everything is Here: Share It:
We have everything that we need. Look around us. Acre upon acre of crops are growing, animals are being raised for food, technology is available to provide for the needs of the world ten times over if we thought about it. 

Think about it. So let us confess our sins of greed and self centeredness and focus on God and what He gave. God the Father, sent God the Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to save it from itself and the influence of Satan. Believe in Jesus and His sacrifice of Himself to save you. Jesus gave up everything in order to save people focused on themselves. And when you believe, God who is faithful and just, will forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

NOW... Look at all the bounty God gave to you. He gave to you house, home, land, and animals. He gave to you a job, a career, a family. Look at what He made available to you in order to share it. There is so much. Share it. God gave it all to you to use for others. So let me know how you used what God gave you to assist others.

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