Chapters 1-4

Girls, I'm so sorry, but I just re-read these chapters and I'm really wanting to post some thoughts before they escape me!! i don't know how coherent it all will be since it's getting late and I am tired... anyway, talk about some convicting chapters!!! If you don't want this to spoil your reading, don't read this thread until you're done oki? :-)

First of all, it's obvious that materialism is not good. That we are to be careful with our finances. And not to place our heart on the things on earth but on things in heaven. Easier said than done!!! I thought, why is this book SO HUGE??? How much can Alcorn dig into our consciences about money? I didn't realize how often the Lord addresses money and how several times He judged "the REALITY of a man's salvation based on his willingness (or lack of) to part with his money for the glory of God and the good of others." If you are like me, you might consider yourself pretty generous. As Anthony calls me: outrageously generous. (I think that's a bit overstated but that's what he says..) But I have a feeling that after examining my true attitudes, I will find myself far from generous!

Convicting:"We'll eventually give an account of our lives to God... Where did it all go? What did I spend it on? What has been accomplished for eternity thru my use of all this wealth?" If Anthony thinks that I often spend frivolously, how much more would the Lord view it likewise!?

Convicting: "In Deut. the future kings of Israel are specifically warned not to accumulate horses (power), wives (pleasure) and gold (possession). Why? Because these would then become the center of the king's gravity." p.53 ooooohhh.... During residency, Anthony and I went thru really rocky period. We had very little income and we had 2 babies. We enjoyed the finer things in life and neither of us knew how to manage our finances. This was a blessing because it put us into a different mindframe than ever before. You should've seen the coupons, the self-control, the weighing of needs and wants, the prayers for every purchase, the appreciation of what the Lord provided us with, the absolute aversion to debt. When we started making money, we wanted to not be sucked into a materialistic lifestyle and accumulation of stuff. We tittered at those who looked rich and yet were up to their eyeballs in debt - big house, nice cars, fancy furniture, expensive clothes - zero in the bank account. If we don't change our ways, we will be headed that way as well. Oh Lord, bring us to our knees in this matter!!!

Food for thought: "Perhaps the "blessing" is no longer a true blessing but a curse in disguise. THe greatest blessing would be one that would return us to following God whoeheartedly - and our entanglement with wealth is certainly not accomplishing that." That goes with what I just posted on.

Convicting: "The central issue is not the things themselves, but the depletion of the resources of time, energy, enthusiasm, and money that might otherwise have been invested in the kingdom of God... Will owning this keep me from doing other things that God wants me to do?" p.56 This is an excellent section that I can totally relate to. And I know that you will too, Chris. It's uncanny how much it reflects a certain awful situation we're in!

Ok, last thing. I know I'm hogging this board but this one is so true: "It's important to avoid not only the entanglements of sin but also the entanglements in "legitimate things" that result in preoccupation with the peripheral." My stuff, activities, etc. can be one more thing that distracts me from what God wants me to be doing. I'm praying that I can eliminate this in my life - and that I can do it without judging others who continue on.

I'm moving on to the next chapters! :-)
I'm going to be devouring this book, I can tell!

Book Intro

It's been VERY hard for me to not read ahead as I've already finished four chapters before New Year's! I wanted to quote something that's found in the Intro that's worth noting:

"Because of the spiritual warfare that surrounds this great subject of money and possessions, if this book is to be read with eternal benefit, it must be read with prayer. Our use of money and possessions is a DECISIVE STATEMENT OF OUR ETERNAL VALUES. What we do with our money loudly affirms which kingdom we belong to. Whenever we give of our resources to further God's kingdom, we cast a ballot FOR Christ and against Satan, FOR heaven and against hell. Whenever we use our resources selfishly and indifferently we further Satan's goals.

The key to a right use of money and possessions is a right perspective - an ETERNAL perspective."

Growing up I have to admit that money was something that we used to give us pleasure, to buy temporary happiness, to contribute to our own comfort. The selfish attitude toward money was strongly dealt with in France - I think the book was Alcorn's "Treasure Principle" but I can't be sure. But frankly, I have recently forgotten God's purpose and my stewardship and my conscience is burning... I pray that this book study will bring about eternal changes and that I will honor the Lord in this important area of my life once again.

Let's read 4 chapters for this week, Jan 7-13th. Let's see how that works for our pace. Better to get more read now than later when our schedule picks up, right Sara? :-)

In light of eternity,
Jules

Money, Possessions and Eternity

Sara, Susan and Wendy! So looking forward to reading together! Sara and I really enjoyed our last discussion on Feminine Appeal. Just feel free to take your own pace although we will try and keep on the same chapter so that we could relate to each other's comments and keep accountability. Once again, if we need to slow things down, let me know!

Love you all.
Jules

Merry Christmas!

I know you're coming here tomorrow Sara (oops, it's actually already the 19th!) Although I got only a few hours of sleep last nite, I'm running on fumes and I can't sleep! So I worked on the blog a little bit more. I want to add other things on this and invite others to join us. We need to decide on a book, chickie! Love ya, can't wait until you get here!

Jules