And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Matthew 19:16-30
I wanted to thank all of you for walking with me in this journey. For sacrificing and trusting that you did not need that money and ultimately giving it away in the belief that it would make a difference. Thank you for all the time you have taken to keep me in your prayers.
Thanking you for your faith.
It is not through good deeds that we enter the kingdom of heaven. Obedience to the law is an expression of belief. Scripture clarifies that salvation is a gift of God's grace that we receive through faith, and not by works. The rich man wants eternal life so he asks what he can do in order to obtain it. Jesus said to trade in the god of wealth for the God of eternal salvation. The rich man had no other choice but to examine his heart and see who his true authority was. A person's heart should not be measured by comparing it to other's accomplishments or sacrifices, instead each person should focus on serving from a heart of gratitude toward God's grace. God calls us to give up the gods of our lives for the God of the universe.
I faithfully write this knowing that this is where God has called me. And I will do my best to steward your money well. Thank you for stepping out in faith.
Thank you to everyone who has kept me in their prayers. Thank you for interceding and believing with me that God would provide if he willed it.
On December 18, I had $6,088 in my account ($1,500 away from meeting my deadline which was the next day). I checked my account December 19th and there was $7,944 (that is a total of $1,856 of processed funds!). For fun, I checked again on December 20th and there is currently $8,519!
Let me do the math for you… THAT IS $2,431 RAISED IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS.
Praise Him.
"For your Maker is your husband—
the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth."
