Reflections?

(12.03.21– What I Possess! –1 Tim 6:9-10)

My friend, may I ask you a question? Sometimes is our spiritual life stained by a concern for riches; riches that create a barrier to Christian character?

My friend, Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.

I'm M. Clifford Brunner.

Every year about this time I make it my task to clean the wood stove out in our Great Room preparing it for another burning season. Although I usually clean out the inside of the stove in the spring when burning season is over, it's the fall when I do all the other more aesthetic things like blacking and, even more tedious, cleaning the glass in the stove doors. After a year of burning if takes a lot of elbow grease and strong glass cleaner to do the job. One thing that I've noticed is when the glass is dirty on the inside it does little more than reflect images from the outside. You really can't see much of the fire inside the stove at all. When the glass is dirty it might as well not be there. It really has no purpose.

It's like that with our spiritual lives as well. A life stained by a concern for riches creates a barrier to Christian character.

Here's a story: A rich but miserable man once visited a rabbi seeking understanding of his life and how he might find peace. The rabbi led the man to a window and said, "What do you see?" "I see men, women, and children," answered the rich man. The rabbi then took the man and stood him in front of a mirror. "Now what do you see?" he asked. "I see myself," the rich man replied. "Yes," said the rabbi. "It is a strange thing, is it not? In the window there is a glass and in the mirror there is a glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others, and see only yourself." Someone has well said: "Money is a good servant, but a poor master. The lure for gold is stronger than the human will, and with many a man it stands between his soul and his God. Someday it will be discovered that the bars that shut many out of the kingdom of heaven are forged of silver and gold!" (Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances dictate.)

The Scriptures warn: "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows" (1 Tim 6:9-10). Unfortunately, many do not see God and His will for their lives because they have allowed their vision to become clouded by "a little silver." Their window has become a mirror! Those who have an intense desire for money and the things that money can buy are often blinded to the fact that God loves them, and He wants them to become His children and inherit true riches. If you walk according to God's instructions, what do you see? Do you see a "temporary reflection" of yourself in a glass containing silver? Or, are you able to see through the glass–beyond yourself–to life that beckons from the other side?

We pray. Heavenly Father, often we do not see God and Your will for our lives because we’ve allowed our vision to become clouded by money and the things of this world. Our window has become a mirror! If we have an intense desire for money and the things that money can buy we are often blinded to the fact that You love us, and You want us to become Your child and inherit true riches. When we walk according to Your instructions, do we see a "temporary reflection" of ourself in a glass containing silver? Or, are we able to see through the glass–beyond ourself–to life that beckons from heaven? In Jesus name we pray. Amen!

Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.

If you have a special prayer request, please send your request to ”This Passing Day!”

<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.

Reflections?

(12.03.21– What I Possess! –1 Tim 6:9-10)

My friend, may I ask you a question? Sometimes is our spiritual life stained by a concern for riches; riches that create a barrier to Christian character?

My friend, Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.

I'm M. Clifford Brunner.

Every year about this time I make it my task to clean the wood stove out in our Great Room preparing it for another burning season. Although I usually clean out the inside of the stove in the spring when burning season is over, it's the fall when I do all the other more aesthetic things like blacking and, even more tedious, cleaning the glass in the stove doors. After a year of burning if takes a lot of elbow grease and strong glass cleaner to do the job. One thing that I've noticed is when the glass is dirty on the inside it does little more than reflect images from the outside. You really can't see much of the fire inside the stove at all. When the glass is dirty it might as well not be there. It really has no purpose.

It's like that with our spiritual lives as well. A life stained by a concern for riches creates a barrier to Christian character.

Here's a story: A rich but miserable man once visited a rabbi seeking understanding of his life and how he might find peace. The rabbi led the man to a window and said, "What do you see?" "I see men, women, and children," answered the rich man. The rabbi then took the man and stood him in front of a mirror. "Now what do you see?" he asked. "I see myself," the rich man replied. "Yes," said the rabbi. "It is a strange thing, is it not? In the window there is a glass and in the mirror there is a glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others, and see only yourself." Someone has well said: "Money is a good servant, but a poor master. The lure for gold is stronger than the human will, and with many a man it stands between his soul and his God. Someday it will be discovered that the bars that shut many out of the kingdom of heaven are forged of silver and gold!" (Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances dictate.)

The Scriptures warn: "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows" (1 Tim 6:9-10). Unfortunately, many do not see God and His will for their lives because they have allowed their vision to become clouded by "a little silver." Their window has become a mirror! Those who have an intense desire for money and the things that money can buy are often blinded to the fact that God loves them, and He wants them to become His children and inherit true riches. If you walk according to God's instructions, what do you see? Do you see a "temporary reflection" of yourself in a glass containing silver? Or, are you able to see through the glass–beyond yourself–to life that beckons from the other side?

We pray. Heavenly Father, often we do not see God and Your will for our lives because we’ve allowed our vision to become clouded by money and the things of this world. Our window has become a mirror! If we have an intense desire for money and the things that money can buy we are often blinded to the fact that You love us, and You want us to become Your child and inherit true riches. When we walk according to Your instructions, do we see a "temporary reflection" of ourself in a glass containing silver? Or, are we able to see through the glass–beyond ourself–to life that beckons from heaven? In Jesus name we pray. Amen!

Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.

If you have a special prayer request, please send your request to ”This Passing Day!”

<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.