Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Boundaries”
Our Bible verse for today: “Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Do you own your possessions or do your possessions own you?”
Job was one of the wealthiest men of his day. In fact, the Bible describes him as having been “the greatest man among all the people of the east.” (Job 1:3). In terms of land, sheep, camels, oxen, donkeys, and children (all standard measures of wealth in his day), Job was richly blessed. On top of that, he was a godly man who prayed and worshipped frequently.
However at one point Satan was allowed by God to attack Job and to destroy all of his possessions. Job went from being the richest guy in town to sitting in dust and ashes completely destitute. Job didn’t know it at the time but this was actually a test of his faith, and it had been allowed by God to prove a point to Satan. The purpose of this adversity was to test the sincerity and depth of Job’s faith and, if he handled it well, to hold him up as an example of great faith even in tough times.
How did Job respond when every worldly possession which he held dear was lost? His response is recorded for us in Job 1:21-22, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh.” Through it all Job did not sin, or blame God for anything.
The question for us to consider is how much of a hold do our possessions have on our heart. Do you own them or do they own you? If you lost it all today would you still praise God, would your faith still be intact? It’s vital that we build a boundary around our heart that prevents our love for our possessions to penetrate too deeply. Like Job, we are free to enjoy what the Lord has blessed us with, and certainly we can want to keep it, but we cannot allow our love for those things to become so strong that if we lose them, we are devastated or destroyed.
The great writer Oswald Chambers once wrote, “When Jesus Christ talked about discipleship, He indicated that a disciple must be detached from property and possessions, for if a man’s life is in what he possess, when disaster comes to his possessions, his life goes too.”
How deeply into your heart does your love for your possessions go? Do you own them or do they own you?
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 