The Troubles With Money

Stock markets got you down these days? 

Maybe they shouldn’t, because...

“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth; that he may confirm his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as at this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you this day that you shall surely perish.” (Deuteronomy 8:17-19)

 

God says in no uncertain terms that the power to gain wealth is from him, and not of ourselves. God also warns against the danger wealth can bring, which is a turning away from God.

 

The Bible also tells us this, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money; nor he who loves wealth, with gain: this is also vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them; and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11)

 

“There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon men: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honour, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them; this is vanity; it is a sore affliction.” (Ecclesiastes 6:1-2)

 

One of the multitude said to Jesus, “Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?” And he said to them, “Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

 

And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’

 

“But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’

“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:13-21)

 

Jesus warns us that the wealth God gives to us, whether much or little, comes with a responsibility, and also a consequence if that responsibility is not carried out. We are all given choices to make with the assets lent to us.

 

Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

 

And Jesus also said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24)

 

How do we know no one can serve two masters?

 

“Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. (Matthew 26:14-15)

 

“When Judas, his betrayer, saw that he (Jesus) was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27”3-5)

 

Though few, these verses record for us the worst betrayal in human history, and which the Bible calls, “…the lordly price at which I was paid off by them.”

 

To this day, the names Judas and Iscariot are synonymous with betrayal, and the events associated with the consequence of the love of money.

 

Why did the betrayal occur?

 

To fulfill this prophecy given centuries earlier to Zechariah the prophet.

 

“Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty shekels of silver. Then the Lord said to me, “Cast it into the treasury” ---the lordly price at which I was paid off by them. So I took the thirty shekels of silver and cast them into the treasury in the house of the Lord.” (Zechariah 11:12-13)

If you haven't yet perceived, these words spoken by God, “…the lordly price at which I was paid off by them.” were said in the first person... five centuries before these words were written about Jesus, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." (John 1:1-2)

 

In Zechariah’s prophecy, the specific word wages was said regarding the thirty shekels of silver, and Paul warns us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

 

Life is never less than making choices, and God makes this clear, “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

 

Judas’s betrayal occurred in those immediate days preceding the most significant Passover in history, the one that fulfilled the first Passover.

 

And concerning Passover, God said, “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever.” (Exodus 12:14)

 

Passover this year will begin at sundown on April12th.

The Oddblock Station Agent

Forgive

Jesus said, “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)

 

Less familiar is what Jesus clarified to us afterward, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15)

 

What Jesus said is clear and easy to understand, but we live in a world where we as societies, and as individuals, have a great difficulty in forgiving others.

 

Jesus further warns us about our human problem with being unforgiving, in a parable which ends this way, “Then the Lord summoned him (the unforgiving servant) and said to him, ’You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me, and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had on you?’ And in his anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:32-35)

 

“And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” “Luke 23:33-34)

 

Jesus later said to one of those criminals, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

 

Did God hear and harken to Jesus’s plea to the Father to forgive them?

 

I’m convinced God did hear and harken, because these words Jesus said were intended to be heard by people. We know this, because before he raised Lazarus from the grave, Jesus said, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me.” (John 11:41-42)

 

“As they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60)

 

Jesus heard Stephen’s plea, because Paul was one of those present there at the stoning of Stephen, and we know Paul was forgiven.

 

“Jesus said, “… you know neither the scriptures nor power of God.” (Matthew 22:29)

 

Likewise, we do not know the power of God, nor do we know the depth of God’s capacity to forgive. Nonetheless Jesus commands us to forgive, and we are also warned of the consequence of failing to forgive from the heart.

 

Every word Jesus spoke, and that we know about today, was intended for us to know.

 

The Oddblock Station Agent

Thoughts About God's 5th Commandment

“When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” (John 19:26-27)

Jesus spoke these words when he was on the cross and minutes away from his death.

 

But why did Jesus do this?

 

The Bible tells us, Jesus said, “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.” (Matthew 5:17)

 

Jesus fulfilled God’s commandment, and for us to know this and do likewise.

 

And this is the commandment.

 

“Honour your Father and your Mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” (Exodus 20:12)

 

Everything about the life of Jesus while he walked and dwelt among men, was doing the work of the Father, and fulfilling the law and the scriptures that were intended to be fulfilled during the time he dwelt among men. 

 

The Bible tells us Jesus dwelt among men, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14)

 

I’m convinced that honouring my own father and mother did not end with their deaths, but will end for me upon my death.

Everything I say or do concerning my parents since they died either honours them or dishonours them. Since I have become aware of this, I choose my words with care in what I say about my mother and father when talking about them.

 

One of the last pictures taken of Mom and Dad together.

By the time this scene was recorded, Mom did not know who Dad was.

The Oddblock Station Agent

The World Has a Lot to Say, But...

What has God said concerning Israel?

“Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar__ the Lord of hosts is his name: “If this fixed order departs from before me, says the Lord, then shall the descendants of Israel cease from being a nation before me for ever.” (Jeremiah 31: 35-36)

 

“Thus says the Lord, “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the descendants of Israel for all that they have done, says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 31:27)

 

Until this present day, not one of God’s conditions here have changed since spoken, therefore all peoples committed to the destruction of the land of Israel and the annihilation of the descendants of Jacob are fighting against what God has established, and against God.

 

Through Moses, this is what God said and has promised Israel, “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours, your territory shall be from the wilderness and Lebanon and from the River, the River Euphrates to the western sea.” (Deuteronomy 11:24)

These hatred-induced protests, and the slogans shouted against Israel and against the Jewish peoples, a repulsive noise that has been made in our streets and have been shoved in our faces since October 7^th, were not chosen by accident. Those chanted twisted falsehoods are deliberate, and are rooted in the evil that conspires against God’s people, against God’s words, and mocks God himself.

 

“No man shall be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land you shall tread, as he promised you." (Deuteronomy 11:25)

 

“He will not let your foot be moved, he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:3-4)

 

I'm neither an Arab nor a Jew, meaning I'm a Gentile, but I believe God’s words, and I believe God’s words to be true.

The Oddblock Station Agent

Mind the Gap

A gap of time

And God brought Abram outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them, “Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Geneses 15:5-6)

 

“For what does the scripture say?” Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3)

 

“But the words, “It was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead, Jesus, our Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for your justification.” (Romans  4:23-25)

 

We are confronted with the same as was Abraham… a gap of time.

 

Because Abraham believed the Lord about what was promised, but would not live to see, God reckoned his faith and belief to him as righteousness.

 

Today we are told of Jesus who was born in Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago, who lived and walked on the earth, who was put to death on a cross to pay our unpayable blood debt to God, and who was buried. On the third day God raised Jesus from the dead, and he ascended into heaven. 

 

All these events were accomplished in strict accordance with what was written in the scriptures, that the scriptures be fulfilled. Jesus is the only Son of the one true living God, and He is the God of Israel.

 

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:-25-26)

 

After the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, Stephen later testified before the council, “Behold I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)

That testimony cost Stephen his life, but his words were recorded for others to read and know.

 

We were not there to see, hear, and witness all these events recorded and kept for us through the generations to this day, that we might know Jesus, believe in Him, and have life in Him. We either believe in Him by faith, or we choose not to believe in Him.

 

Because we, as individuals who believe in Jesus, God reckons our belief to us as righteousness. The Bible tells us this.

 

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in his spirit there is no deceit.” (Psalm 32:1-2)

 

“So also David pronounces a blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin.” (Romans 4:6-8)

 

The Oddblock Station Agent

Catastrophic Flooding?

First, we know what God has said.

“And God said,” Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas.” (Genesis 1:9-10)

 

The waters under the heavens that were gathered together into one place and God called seas are all joined together, which on a curved surface is one place. Today, all dry lands are surrounded by water. This hasn’t changed since the beginning.

 

As far as I know, God has not rescinded his separation of land from sea.

 

 

And what God said to Noah

 

“I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:11)

 

In spite of geological and fossil evidence, most people today do not believe this only world flood did occur, let alone the reality of another world flood having never occurred.

 

 

And a question God asked Job

 

“Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far you shall come, and no farther, and here your proud waves shall be stayed’?” (Job 38:8-11)

 

What does God’s words here say to us about today’s obsession with polar caps melting and oceans rising and possible catastrophic flooding?

 

The world’s alarmist narratives are overblown and unfounded, because in our darkened minds we want to believe lies rather than accept God’s truth.

 

 

And here is why…

 

“because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.” (Romans 1:25)

The Oddblock Station Agent

A Few Thoughts About Blindness

“Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:20-21)

 

I can only wonder what the outcry against us today is like before God in heaven, because our sin today is great and very grave.

 

“And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves groping for the door.” (Genesis 19:11)

 

This account of God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah I heard when I was young, and then read I’ve read these verses over the years since. including Those details about the men outside the door of Lot’s house being struck with blindness were familiar, yet only this morning has the significance of what was going on struck me.

 

I’ve had eye problems for several years, glaucoma and retina issues, and the prospect of losing sight in one or both of my eyes terrifies me.

 

Those men outside the door of Lot’s house were all struck with blindness, and yet when I read this now,  I’m astounded by what I hadn’t perceived before. Instead of being sent into a panic of fear over the instant loss of their eyesight, the men of Sodom persisted in their pursuit of their evil in spite one of the worst of debilitating afflictions.

 

Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” (John 9:39)

 

Are we so doomed by our own blindness, that we are unable and cannot perceive the evil that surrounds us in this present time in which we live?

 

“Do you suppose, O man, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgement of God?

 

Or do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience?

 

Do you not know that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 

 

But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgement will be revealed.” (Romans 2:4-5)

 

Paul’s words are indictments against me.

The Oddblock Station Agent