Author	Thread: Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . .
Admin	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 21 Oct, 2010 07:11 PM Have you ever thought of literally following Luke 12:33 ; "Sell your possessions and give the money to the poor." Have you ever REALLY considered it? Does it scare you to consider it? Post Reply
View Profile History	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 21 Oct, 2010 07:35 PM Yes, that is totally scary. I was just talking to my kids about this last night - how the disciples dropped everything and followed Jesus. Seems like that would be so much easier if Jesus were here. It would be a like some kind of security thinking that wherever He sleeps, that's where I'll sleep. Or whatever He eats I'll eat. He was human then, so He had to eat and sleep at some point! Makes me think of Forrest Gump when he was running cross country... Course, Jesus knows what we need, but it still seems like it'd be easier to follow Him around in person to drop everything. Post Reply
View Profile History	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 21 Oct, 2010 07:56 PM You are so right. When I pray sometimes the thought will come ; 'is he really listening?' dang it would be so much better if I could see him sitting next to me and listening attentively. And sometimes I think I hear him, and say "is that you Lord?" If I only could see and hear his lips move ! I ask " which way? this way? Ok, is this it? " Only if I could see him ahead to follow ; I get so tired of guessing. I'm not complaining ; just saying I guess this is how faith is built. Post Reply
View Profile History	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 21 Oct, 2010 08:05 PM So, if one were to really consider it, what would be your first step? How does one plan for that? Especially in this economy - Paul when from city to city and worked when he got there and made relationships - how does one do that now? Can't get a job no where. Shoot, even if you did get a job, aient nobody neighborly anymore. Would people listen to us newly-turned-bums over what we are now? Post Reply
View Profile History	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 21 Oct, 2010 08:32 PM I think my first step would to be walking in the POWER of the Holy Spirit. If one had the power to heal, drive out demons and speak into peoples lives the rest would be easy, except for some who would want to tempt, discredit or kill you. Post Reply
View Profile History	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 22 Oct, 2010 06:05 AM This Nation and to a lesser extent the rest of the world, have become a nation of "Possessor's". Our possessions have come to define us and many of us have become hoarders...pack rats. Indeed it would be quite scary to "unload" who you are and to walk naked (in a sense). There are Brothers, Monks, Nuns and Priests that do take a Vow of Poverty and Walk with Christ depending only on His Providence for their sustenance. On another note...I am curious about Alycorn's comment about Jesus where she said..."He was human then,". I have always felt that Jesus is in Heaven as A Human. He was Transfigured but was still Human and was taken up to Heaven in Bodily Form. To me (and I believe that is why God did this) His still being Human makes Him much more of a Friend and Confessor, because He is Human and KNOWS what I am going through and my Temptations. Maybe we could do another Thread? Blessings Steve Post Reply
View Profile History	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 22 Oct, 2010 01:29 PM I admit my faith isnt that strong to give up what little I own and have faith that the Lord will provide. I know I should be willing to do this but I know it would be nearly impossible for me. yes I am weak and a sinner. I agree there are days when I wish I could see Jesus listening to me. Post Reply
View Profile History	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 22 Oct, 2010 05:59 PM twosparrows ... what a GREAT post!!! You might even say (if you were ME): "A BAREFOOT GREAT POST!!!" :ROFL::ROFL::ROFL: As I was reading it, I was reminded (God's wisdom coming out again through the Holy Spirit's gift of it in my heart) of the fact that in our day we have more levels of "the poor" in our society to consider, and types of "being poor" too come to mind ... if we were to sell all our possessions and give the money we get for them to "the poor", which "poor" should we give it to? Should we divide it up among degrees and types of "poor" or give it just to the REALLY "poor", those with, literally, NOTHING compared to other "poor people"? Myself, with the income I have that is a "fixed income" right now from Socially Security, I am even classified as "below poverty level" which makes me one of those "degrees of poor" people even though I do have a certain amount of money comin' in regularly to live on as best and wisely as I can ... should I, or anyone in my position, sell my possessions and give the money to myself? Now THERE"S an idea, huh? But, it's really not necessary to sell MY posssessions and give the money to "the poor", unless it IS Jesus through the Holy Spirit CLEARLY instructing me to do so like He did the rich man, because MY possessions are not MORE important to me than following Jesus and He knows that!!! So ... the question REALLY is, twosparrows and "ally", where is my heart already about my possessions and my relationship with Jesus and my willingness to follow Him at whatever cost where He asks me to go and leads me? This is His heart, His desire for every child of God ... to, as my favorite Christian singer/composer Phil Keaggy encourages in His song about this topic, "Let Everything Else Go" that hinders your focus on Jesus and your relationship of serving, loving and following and blessing Him and the others He brings into your life with whatever gifts He has given you through the Holy Spirit, with ALL of your heart, mind, body and spirit and strength!!! If you NEED to sell your distracting possessions to do so, to place your FULL trust in His provision and care, then you should do so, but, otherwise, you're fine havin' what you have and using it as part of His joy and blessing in your life to be a blessing to you and to others in your life, like your wife or husband, kids, other family members, friends etc ... Steve Post Reply
View Profile History	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 22 Oct, 2010 06:30 PM I don't think I would be doing my kids a service by giving away everything and being a pauper. I agree with what most everyone is saying about it about how we feel about what we have, and what we do with what God's given us. Insert talents parable here. Example: I used to post anything I don't use on Ebay to sell, especially my kids clothes as they grow out of them. Now, I put them on freecycle or craigslist to giveaway; and I look for free things there too. One of my kids asked the other day why I don't sell the stuff. I told him because I hope to get some things that we need for free, so I should do my part and giveaway good things. Post Reply
DontHitThatMark View Profile History	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 22 Oct, 2010 09:19 PM I think that Jesus just told the rich young ruler that because He knew that material things held a higher place in the man's heart than God did. The man thought he was pretty holy until Jesus said that. And Jesus probably took care of the disciple's families for awhile with the huge catch of fish that He converted Peter with. God didn't ask every person that believed on Him to sell everything, but if God asks us to sell all our stuff, we should be able to. I'm not sure we should just do it anyway. It depends on whether or not we're called to do that. :peace::peace: Post Reply
Elisa View Profile History	Guys&Gals ; Have you ever thought . . . . . Posted : 23 Oct, 2010 10:57 PM Well now, about 10 years ago I left my job with no guarantee of an income to work as a missionary. Upon arrival in the other country, I had exactly $5.21 in my pocket. Talk about a leap of faith. For me, that was incredibly difficult. The only possession I kept was my truck. It stayed back in the States with my parents. Everything else, gone. Every day was dependent upon God. Some days there wasn't enough food and yet, somehow, a meal was never missed. Some meals were mighty skimpy, and a soul can get a wee bit tired of beans, rice, and tortillas, but a blessing is a blessing. Besides not having an income, the next hardest part for me was medical care. A simple illness in a third world location can wreak havoc and result in devastating problems. Trying to procure even basic medicine was so incredibly difficult. Then, to have to give that away to someone who needed it even more was at times excruciatingly difficult. And yet, God took care of everything. I had the responsibility of being a good steward of that which was entrusted to me. However, at a time and place where I could not meet even the most basic of my own needs, God did it all. Post Reply

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