I read an article today that said that 9 out of 10 Scottish people receive more from their government than they pay in taxes- an average of L14,000 per household. That's roughly the equivalent of $22,000 in American terms.
The fundamental law of economics is that whenever you send out more than you bring in, you will go bankrupt. It's unavoidable, whether its a government or a family income . . . . . . . or your Christian walk.
How many Christians today are spiritually bankrupt, because they have given out more than they have taken in?
If you plan on serving as Christ served, you need to have the power that Christ had. If we plan on doing the "greater things" that Jesus referred to in John 14- greater things that Jesus Himself did- we will be sending out an awful lot of love, forgiveness, time, energy, and caring.
Without anything coming in, and with all that going out, we will run up a huge spiritual deficit. Kind of like a bloated government that spends $1.1 trillion more than it brings in each year. Eventually, bankruptcy occurs.
When a government goes bankrupt, it ceases all services, lays off workers, shuts down agencies, and basically self-implodes.
The same identical thing happens when a Christian goes spiritually bankrupt. He or she cuts out all giving to Christian missions and to churches. He or she withdraws from the church, from Bible studies, from Christian fellowship. He or she stops serving in ministry areas. The dynamic faith that once existed basically self-implodes.
The key point is this: those Christians who want to truly live out the calling of Jesus had better get serious about being constantly filled with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus withdrew to lonely places and prayed. He knew that He would be performing miracles, teaching the people, dealing with criticism, serving the poor, loving, forgiving, and confronting. All of that is time-consuming and energy-draining, even for the Son of God.
He knew that whatever He sent out in the form of love would need to be replaced by the Holy Spirit, or He would go spiritually bankrupt.
We too need this. As we strive to live out our faith in this world, we need to also strive to get alone with God and be replenished by the power of His love and grace. We need time immersed in His word. We need time of silence and stillness. We need prayer and petition to our Heavenly Father. Without this, we won't last long.
The government of Scotland, like the government of Greece, will go bankrupt if nothing changes. It will implode and become worthless. The same thing will happen to you if you continue to try to live out the teachings of Jesus without first being filled with the power of Jesus.
This week, make sure you have just as much love, grace, forgiveness, and strength coming IN from God as you send out to other people.
The fundamental law of economics is that whenever you send out more than you bring in, you will go bankrupt. It's unavoidable, whether its a government or a family income . . . . . . . or your Christian walk.
How many Christians today are spiritually bankrupt, because they have given out more than they have taken in?
If you plan on serving as Christ served, you need to have the power that Christ had. If we plan on doing the "greater things" that Jesus referred to in John 14- greater things that Jesus Himself did- we will be sending out an awful lot of love, forgiveness, time, energy, and caring.
Without anything coming in, and with all that going out, we will run up a huge spiritual deficit. Kind of like a bloated government that spends $1.1 trillion more than it brings in each year. Eventually, bankruptcy occurs.
When a government goes bankrupt, it ceases all services, lays off workers, shuts down agencies, and basically self-implodes.
The same identical thing happens when a Christian goes spiritually bankrupt. He or she cuts out all giving to Christian missions and to churches. He or she withdraws from the church, from Bible studies, from Christian fellowship. He or she stops serving in ministry areas. The dynamic faith that once existed basically self-implodes.
The key point is this: those Christians who want to truly live out the calling of Jesus had better get serious about being constantly filled with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus withdrew to lonely places and prayed. He knew that He would be performing miracles, teaching the people, dealing with criticism, serving the poor, loving, forgiving, and confronting. All of that is time-consuming and energy-draining, even for the Son of God.
He knew that whatever He sent out in the form of love would need to be replaced by the Holy Spirit, or He would go spiritually bankrupt.
We too need this. As we strive to live out our faith in this world, we need to also strive to get alone with God and be replenished by the power of His love and grace. We need time immersed in His word. We need time of silence and stillness. We need prayer and petition to our Heavenly Father. Without this, we won't last long.
The government of Scotland, like the government of Greece, will go bankrupt if nothing changes. It will implode and become worthless. The same thing will happen to you if you continue to try to live out the teachings of Jesus without first being filled with the power of Jesus.
This week, make sure you have just as much love, grace, forgiveness, and strength coming IN from God as you send out to other people.
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