Tag: what the bible says about wealth

Bible Verse of The Day – 7-8-24

John 10:10 (NKJV) 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

As Jesus spoke, He was contrasting Himself with the devil, who He referred to as the thief.

He stated that the devil had come to steal, kill, and destroy, but He had come that we might have life abundantly.

But what exactly is the abundance Jesus was referring to?

Many people will immediately think of monetary wealth or material possessions.

This is a popular viewpoint among some believers and teachers since Jesus didn’t specify the type of abundance He was referring to as He spoke in this situation.

But if we were to look at the teachings of Jesus overall, viewing the bigger picture, we would see that He was not speaking at all about monetary or material abundance.

You see, Jesus spoke frequently about why He had come. Never did He state that He had come to make people wealthy or to help them store up an abundance of material goods.

For anyone to teach that this was His purpose would be terribly incorrect. It would, in fact, be bordering on heresy.

Jesus did speak many times throughout His ministry about riches, wealth, storing up treasures on earth, etc. But not once did He speak of these things in a positive light.

In fact, He stated that the possibility of a rich man entering heaven was as difficult as a camel passing through the eye of a needle.

Matthew 19:23-24 (NKJV)23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

When His disciples questioned Him further, Jesus told them that with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible, clarifying that a rich man entering the kingdom of heaven is only possible if that man submits everything about his life to God, including his wealth.

To be clear, the abundance Jesus came to bring was not material wealth. It was spiritual wealth.

It is the redemption and salvation of mankind that He offers to all who will accept it.

It is the healing power that comes by way of faith in Him.

And it is the forgiveness of our sins by the washing of them in His blood, making us new creations in Him.

Any teaching that claims Christ died a cruel, terrible death on the cross for mankind to become wealthy is false and needs to be seen as such.

Turn away from such teachings and embrace the true gospel that states we must take up our cross and deny ourselves.

Luke 9:23 (NKJV) 23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

And let us find true treasure in our relationship with the one, true God.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 6-24-24

Luke 12:19-21 (NKJV) 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

As followers of Christ, it should be our desire to handle our finances in a way that pleases God.

This can be a challenge, and it requires us to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to strike the balance that places us in the center of God’s desires for us.

Spending foolishly and without discretion will lead us to poverty and constant financial difficulties.

On the contrary, packing all our material gains away like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter season will lead to us hoarding our material blessings instead of using them to sustain ourselves and also bless those in need, which we are repeatedly told to do in God’s word.

In the verses above, the man in this parable had much material wealth. He had so much, in fact, he lacked sufficient space to store it.

In his desire to maintain possession and control of it, he built new barns to store his goods, surmising that he would be secure for the future.

While this may seem proper to our logical minds, we need to remember what Jesus told the rich young man who asked Him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.

Jesus listed several things that revolved around obeying God’s commands, such as not lying, not stealing, honoring his parents, and loving his neighbor as himself.

When the young man acknowledged that he already did all those things, Jesus commended him and told him that if he desired to be perfect, he must sell all he owned, give to the poor, and follow Him.

At this the man was sad, since his wealth was great.

This one parable should give us understanding as to the importance of handling our material possessions properly. It should not be taken lightly.

The man who had grand plans of building new barns in which he could store his goods was called a fool for doing so since his life would be required of him that same night, leaving all his wealth to someone other than himself.

What will we do?

Will we be like the man storing up wealth? Or the young ruler who walked away sad when told to sell everything he owned and give to the poor?

Or will we submit wholly to God, including our earthly possessions?

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 7-18-23

1 Timothy 6:17 (NKJV) 17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

Paul is writing this to Timothy. He is telling him to command (give an authoritative order) to those who are wealthy, to not become haughty.

Another way of saying this is, do not be arrogant, superior-acting, disdainful, showing contempt or lack of respect to others just because of your wealth.

God gives all of us things to enjoy.

But when we start to get confident in those things, or we begin to see ourselves as untouchable, it  can open the door to haughtiness.

Instead of our trust being in God, It can shift to our comfortable lifestyle.

Instead of Who we have, we look at what we have. Instead of trusting with our hearts, we now trust with our head and what we can see and touch.

Having wealth is not a bad thing in and of itself. It’s how we handle it that defines us.

Will we honor God with it?  Or will we lay up for ourselves treasures here on earth?

Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV) 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust 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.

Let us keep our hearts soft and pliable no matter what we have been blessed with.

God is watching our attitudes. He is seeing what we are doing with the riches that He places in our hands.

Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 7-26-22

Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NKJV) 10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.

Wealth and material gain will not bring satisfaction to our human soul. It is intrinsically elusive, meaning very hard to attain and hold onto.

There is a difference in wealth that has been sought after and wealth that has come by the hand of God. Wealth that comes by the hand of God has no curse associated with it.

God will bring wealth to those who can handle it. And we can only handle it if we look at it as not being ours, but His.

Let Him do with it what He wants to do.

If He wants to help someone or bless them with what He has blessed us with, let Him have full rule over what He has put in our possession.

There are times when God wants to bless His child with riches and wealth. He just wants us to rejoice in the fruits of our labor. We can’t let it go to our head. This is a gift from God, not man.

Enjoy and be grateful. Remain humble and carry on.

Ecclesiastes 5:19 (NKJV) 19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

God’s gifts to us come in many shapes and sizes, but there will be no greater gift than Salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ!

Let Him bring His gifts of wealth and riches, etc. to us as He sees fit. And let us receive them with joy.

But remember the most important gift, Jesus Christ; the One who will keep us close to the Father. He will teach us how to handle all other gifts through His guidance, and keep them in their proper place.

Amen.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
49 N Lamplighters Walk
Hampstead, NC 28443

401-439-3780

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Bible Verse of The Day – 2-18-19

1 Timothy 6:9 (NKJV) 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

Many people desire to be rich… financially blessed. It’s no secret that having an abundance of money makes many aspects of our lives here on earth easier.

But being wealthy also has its down sides. You might ask “how so?”. Wouldn’t having lots of money make everything easier?”

On the surface, it would seem like being wealthy would make a person’s life easier and more pleasant in every aspect, right? Well, yes, it would seem that way. But it’s not always true. Let’s take a look.

First, let’s be sure that we understand that being rich is not a sin. The Bible never, ever states that. But it does teach us that being wealthy comes with a lot of responsibilities.

If we look closely at the verse above, we need to be sure to understand what it really means, not just what we see on the surface.

People whose trust is in God alone usually won’t have as strong a desire to be wealthy as those who are less ethical. Again, it is not a sin to be rich, or to want to be rich. But our desire to know and love God must be above all other desires, including the desire to be wealthy.

If we are corrupt in our ethics, being rich will only cause us to become further corrupt and unethical. And many who start off believing that they are ethically sound, and who seem quite humble, will eventually succumb to the temptations that come with wealth, and their humility will falter if they are not very, very careful.

In the long run, we need to make sure our desires are in their proper order, with God being at the very top, 24/7, 365 days per year. Then and only then can we ever hope to be able to handle financial blessings properly and in a way that doesn’t threaten our walk with God and our eternal destiny.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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Bible Verse of The Day – 8-21-18

Proverbs 28:6 (NKJV) 6 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.

Many of us may be in financial situations that make us feel like we’re backed up against a wall. We may be getting by, but never seem to have any extra. No surplus.

We try our best to do things the right way, the way of integrity and honesty, the way that pleases God.

What’s more, we see people who we know are not living their lives to please God, yet they seem to have an abundance of finances. They lack nothing, at least based on what we see.

This can sometimes cause us to envy their financial status. We can become jealous. We may even covet what they have.

But God has told us that we are far better off to be of lower financial stature and be upright and honest than to be wealthy and of questionable character, obtaining wealth by perverse and corrupt ways.

Would our lives be easier if we had financial abundance? On the surface, yes. But it’s also important that we not forfeit our morals and integrity in exchange for financial abundance.

Learning to live on a tight budget means having to look to and lean on God for our provision. It tests our faith and our steadfastness when it comes to our walk with God. And if we let Him, God will teach us much about trusting Him during those lean times.

Is it always pleasant? No. It’s not. But nothing worth anything comes easy. And the lessons we learn as we lean on Him will far outweigh the convenience of abundant wealth gained by less than honest means.

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!

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Bible Verse of The Day – 10-14-14

Mark 10:25 (NKJV) 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Today we want to take a couple minutes to dispel a myth and expose a false teaching in the church.

The verse above has been used by many to try and convince believers that God hates wealth, He wants them to be poor and that having money will keep a person out of heaven. This is a blatant lie.

The verse above states that it can be difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, but He never said that it was impossible.

The difference between the rich man who makes it and the one who doesn’t is in their priorities.

A rich man who puts his money first will surely have a difficult time entering into the kingdom of heaven. But a rich man who loves God and handles his wealth according to God’s principles, putting God first, will have no trouble whatsoever entering into the kingdom of heaven.

Money is simply a tool. We use it to buy things we need. It can’t buy love, happiness, satisfaction or salvation. But it can make our lives a whole lot easier if there is no lack of it and we handle it properly.

Remember, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil, not money itself!

Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808

401-315-0902

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