Bankrupt

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”

Mark 8:36 (NIV)

Have you ever prayed for someone and then realized much later that you had not been praying the way the Lord would have wanted? Probably we all have. A friend of mine shared with me how the Lord redirected her prayer quickly and clearly.

Barbara told me she had lunch with a couple who shared they were struggling financially. They commented that there never seemed to be enough money at the end of the month for paying all the bills plus purchasing those things they felt they just had to have.

“My heart just broke for how hard they worked,” she told me. “Even though they both had great jobs, they were worried that they would be bankrupt within a few months if things didn’t turn around financially.”

As Barbara drove away after lunch, she began to lift the couple up to the Lord. “Father, please help them,” she prayed.  “The last thing they need is to be bankrupt.” But she said that the Lord immediately spoke truth to her heart.

“Pray for them. But understand the problem is not that they are bankrupt financially; it is that they are bankrupt spiritually.” Her prayer instantly changed for the couple.

Our Father knew that the pull of the world and what it offered would be a huge temptation for His children. That is why there is one Scripture after another in the Bible that addresses that very struggle.

Jesus asks a pointed question in Mark 8:36: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” He is speaking to a large crowd with His disciples at His side and yet He is speaking to us, too.

The couple Barbara spoke with could fail to pay the money they owe and have to declare bankruptcy. They could also spend less, work harder and hopefully pay off their financial debt. But can I ask you this: what’s the point of being financially free if we're spiritually bankrupt?

Every single thing that the world offers us may appear beautiful but it is temporary. And because of sin, the more we get the more we want.

Jesus offers us eternal freedom. We can never pay the debt of being spiritually bankrupt but we don’t need to because Jesus paid that debt with His death on the cross.

When you give Jesus your heart – your everything – you are no longer spiritually bankrupt. You are eternally His.

If you have financial debt, I encourage you to seek Christian financial counseling to get on the right path.

But first, go before the Lord and ask Him to be Lord of your life. Get in the Word and seek His direction for everything that you do, every day. Be spiritually debt-free in Him. For eternity.

Father, I want you to be the focus of my life completely. May I look less at what the world offers and more on your face and eternal life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Where is most of your focus centered every day? Spiritually or worldly? More of Jesus or more of stuff?

Apply

• Journal today’s Scripture. Below “gain the whole world” write down everything material that you consider important in your life and cannot live without.

• Now, beside each one, write “yes” or “no” as you consider whether each thing on your list is worth forfeiting your soul. If you answered “yes” to anything you wrote down, seek the Lord’s face and lay that item down before Him.

Power

• Mark 8:36 (NIV) “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”

• Matthew 6:21 (NIV) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

• Proverbs 23:5 (NIV) “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”

Eyes to See the Army

“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are

more than those who are with them.”

II Kings 6:16 (NIV)

My five-year-old grandson was excited about starting pre-school but nervous about not doing well on his entrance exam. His mother had prepared him with encouragement and a hug.  “Just do your best and you will be fine,” she told him, as they walked into the school.

Jude sat down on the tiny chair in the classroom and waited quietly for the pre-school teacher to start the screening. The first question appeared to be an easy one: “Jude, what would you do if you walked into a dark room?” she asked. He never hesitated for one second as he replied “Panic!”

We see a similar response from the servant of Elisha the prophet in today’s Scripture. The king of Aram was at war with Israel but he was unable to inflict damage because every time he made a decision, Elisha would let the king of Israel know the plans of his enemy.

This enraged Aram’s king to the point that he decided to send a huge army in the darkness of night to surround the city where Elisha and his servant were staying so he could capture them.

Elisha’s servant woke up to chariots, horses and men surrounding the city. The servant knew the odds were not good at all and he was ready to panic. In fear he asked Elisha “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?”

But Elisha calmed his servant by telling him that “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” He then asked the Lord to open the eyes of his servant so he could see the host of angels with chariots and horses, waiting to obey God’s command.

Can you imagine the expression on his servant’s face as he looked around and saw the huge holy army ready to do battle? Panic would instantly be replaced by calm.

What about you? What “dark room” are you entering today? In what “city” are you surrounded by an army positioned to attack? Are you afraid because of a situation at work that threatens to overtake you? Does a problem in your life appear hopeless?

Please do not panic! Do not count out the warrior Jesus Christ. Just as He sent reinforcements to Elisha, Jesus stands ready to do battle for us, His children. He is beside us, protecting, directing, defending and doing battle on our behalf.  

Never forget that the One who is with us is more powerful than those situations that are against us. Trust Him as He battles on our behalf.

Father, thank you for your protection of my family and me. I praise you for doing battle for us against the enemy. Help me to not panic and be fearful but to trust in you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever faced a situation that did not appear to have a good outcome?

• Was your first response to panic or to pray? Why?

Apply

• Carry today’s power verses on note cards in your purse or pocket.

• When fear and panic threaten to attack, pull out your cards and thank the Lord for the promise and encouragement in each verse.

Power

• II Kings 6:16 (NIV) “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

• Psalm 56:3 (NIV) “When I am afraid, I will trust in you . . .”

• Hebrews 13:6 (NIV): “So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Four Little Words

“The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said . . .””

Matthew 28: 5-6 (NIV)

I am amazed at the significance that four little words can have in our lives. Let me give you some examples:

            “The toilet is overflowing.”   (“Where is the plunger?”)

            “My mother-in-law is early.” (“The house is trashed!”)

            “You have been fired.”           (“I have no job.”)

But the most significant, most important four words that have ever been spoken, I believe, are these:             “Just as He said.”

In Matthew 28, we are told that after the Sabbath, two women went to the tomb where the body of Jesus had been placed after He was crucified. They needed to prepare Jesus’ body for permanent burial.

However, when the women arrived, they found an angel sitting on the stone that had previously been rolled in front of the tomb opening. In verses 5 and 6 we read “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said . . .”

If we can’t believe Jesus, if we can’t take Him at His Word - “just as He said” - then there is no need for the Bible. Forget Scripture, forget the promises, forget forgiveness and grace, and certainly forget salvation and resurrection.

But, if we DO believe those four little words with such a powerful meaning, then nothing prevents us from believing every other promise He has made in His Word.

Promises like this found in Isaiah 41:13 (NIV):  “For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Or the promise in Hebrews 13:5 that “. . . Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

And one of my favorite promises in Scripture: “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12 (NIV)

The choice is ours: take God at His Word or rely on our own earthly wisdom. I choose four little words that promise Truth in everything He says.  What about you?

Father, I do not understand everything that is in your Word but I believe you and trust you with my life every minute of every day. Keep my focus on you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Is God’s Word also God’s Truth in your life?

• Do you find that you sometimes doubt whether God really means what He says to you in His Word?

Apply

• Keep a daily journal of the Lord’s promises to you.

• Begin each entry with “Just as He said . . .” and then write down His promise.

Power

• Matthew 28: 5-6 (NIV) “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said…”

• Proverbs 30:5-6 (NIV) “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”

• John 17:17 (NIV) “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

Doc's Messenger

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” So he started out . . .”

Acts 8:26-27 (NIV)

Her father-in-law “Doc” was a patient in the hospital, seriously ill with congestive heart failure. Although he had no relationship with the Lord, he had been blanketed in prayer for years by many friends and family, my friend shared with me.

She had been visiting with him one day and had left long enough to grab some lunch before returning just a few minutes later.

When she walked back into his room, he greeted her with “Well, I got things straightened out with the man upstairs.” She responded “Who?” as she wondered what patient on the upper hospital floor had a problem with him.

“I’ve straightened out things with the Lord” her father-inn-law replied. He went on to explain that a man had come into his room after she left and talked to him about the Lord and he had asked Jesus to come into his heart.

She was overjoyed and hurried to the nurse’s station to find out the name of the chaplain on duty as she shared with the nurses what her father-in-law had told her.

But their response was not what she had anticipated. “We have no chaplain on duty today,” they said and went on to tell her that they had not seen anyone going into his room while she was gone.

Doc was eventually well enough to leave the hospital and was baptized by a minister who came to his home. He passed away a few months after that.

In chapter 8 of the book of Acts, beginning with verse 26, an Ethiopian eunuch was struggling to understand the book of Isaiah as he traveled home from Jerusalem. Suddenly Philip appeared on the road and asked him if he understood what he was reading. When the eunuch replied that he did not, he invited Philip to explain it to him.

And what was the result of Philip sharing Jesus?  The baptism of the eunuch a few miles down the road. As they came up out of the water, Scripture records that “the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away” and the Ethiopian eunuch never saw him again.  But he continued on his way, celebrating what had happened.

How did Philip find himself on that exact road at that exact time? He responded to the nudging of the Lord to go to a desert road. He had no idea why but simply knew that God had a plan. He could have said “I have more important things on my plate today, Lord” or “How big a deal is it, Lord? Can it wait?” but he did not. God directed and he was obedient. The result: a decision for the Lord and a baptism.

What about you and me? When the Spirit prompts us to share Jesus (and He does prompt us), how do we respond? Do we hurry to meet whoever the Lord has placed in our path or do we come up with excuses why we can’t go.

There are people all around us who, like “Doc,” have been prayed for by friends and family for years. And they are praying for a messenger to share Jesus.

I do not know who the Lord sent to “Doc’s” room but I can tell you that he was willing to share the message of Jesus and make a difference for eternity. May we be willing to do the same.

Father, please help me to always be in tune with your prompting to share the name of Jesus with those who do not know Him. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever felt the Lord speaking to your heart to share His name with someone?

• Did you do it? Why or why not?

Apply

• Journal a list of Scriptures that focus on the path of salvation. Put this list in your Bible.

• Pray, asking the Lord to direct you to someone who needs to know Him and ask that He will set up a divine appointment so you can share from your heart.

Power

• Acts 8:26-27 (NIV) “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” So he started out . . .”

• Matthew 28:19 (NIV) “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . .”

• Galatians 6:9 (NIV) “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”