What Does the Bible Say about Money?

What does the Bible have to do with money? Everything. The Bible is the foundation for all of life. It shouldn't be surprising that the Bible talks a LOT about money. Here are a few of the things that are clear:

God's usual means of provision is work:

"For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." 1 Thessalonians 3:10

God commands fathers to provide for their households:

"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1 Timothy 5:8

Coveting (greed) is bad:

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Timothy 6:10

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24

Money should be be real (silver, gold, copper, etc):

When Jesus sent out the twelve, He told them to “Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts," (Matthew 10:9)

"Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water." Isaiah 1:22

God has control over all money:

"For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills." Psalm 50:10

Financial planning is good:

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’" Luke 14:28-30

Investing is good:

See Matthew 25:14-30.

Worrying about money is not good:

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" Matthew 6:25 (see also the rest of the chapter)

We are to tithe:

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10

God calls for us to be generous:

"The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself." Proverbs 11:25

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38

"So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7

Money will not last forever, but we can store up eternal treasures in heaven:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

God has established some taxes:

"Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor." Romans 13:7

God has given the civil government limited authority and shown how it may tax; it may not simply follow the whims of the leaders. This will be covered in a future post on civil government and authority. Another thing relating to civil government and money is restitution; this will also be discussed.

We are not to steal:

“You shall not steal." Exodus 20:15

God has given us clear economic instructions:

Just read the scriptures above. Communism has the government stealing from the people and is thus prohibited. Capitalism seems to fit well with the Bible. The Bible makes it clear that people are to work and trade freely with each other.

God can show His blessing through money:

"The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it." Proverbs 10:22

When we're faithful in little things, God gives us bigger things:

“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10

See also Matthew 25:14-30. It's when we've shown faithfulness in little things that God will reward us with more.

Using some money for our pleasure is not bad.

"I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God." Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

In conclusion, let's be productive with everything we have, whether it be a smart mind, a strong body, or material possessions. Let's give generously, enjoying God's creation but not squandering what He's given to us. Trust Him.

"Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 34:7

To learn more, read the Bible. I also recommend Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn. Although I disagree with Mr. Alcorn's ideas that tithing is no longer required and having money is no longer a sign of God's blessing, this book is an excellent reminder to keep our priorities straight. It's a great book on money.

Why Do You Believe It?

Every belief rests on something. For example, I believe the world is round. I believe this because smart people told me so and I trust them. I've also seen pictures of the earth from space and heard of people who have traveled around the earth. But all this rests on some more basic beliefs, namely, that the earth's shape doesn't randomly change, people can communicate logically, logic exists, I exist, etc. Why do I believe these things? Read on!

I just realized that the format I had planned on will not work, so I'll not use it; the content will be the same, just not ordered how I thought it would.

Ultimately, without believing in God, nothing makes sense. Why does logic exist? Why can we talk logically? If atoms just randomly bounced together to make my mind, why should I trust it? There is no coherent explanation for reality without God. An epistemology (theory of knowledge, i.e., how we know what we know) without God is absurd. The fact that someone would try to logically argue against God shows that they believe the universe has order, and there is no way to logically account for this order from the perspective that the universe is here by chance; if the universe is here by chance, then tomorrow the universe my not be here, or it could all turn green, or the logic might cease to be logic. As Van Til said, Atheism presupposes Theism. The Bible alone can account for reality.

"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" Psalm 14:1a

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Romans 1:18-21

Without believing in the Christian God, nothing makes sense. So there's obviously some "deity" out there somewhere, huh? But who's to say that Christian theism is right and other religions are wrong? God does. False faiths are man-made and, since they are wrong, will not be consistent. An internal analysis of non-Christian worldviews will prove that these worldviews collapse upon themselves. For example, the Koran says that Jesus was a prophet. The words of Jesus contradict the Koran. Christian theism is the only worldview that survives an internal analysis and makes sense of the world.

The verses from Romans quoted above don't just speak of people suppressing the knowledge of "some" deity, but of the true God who made heaven and earth.

See also Isaiah 44:13-28.

The Bible is the only true foundation for how we should live. How do we know what is right and wrong? Ultimately, an atheist has no basis to say murder is wrong. At best, he could say that most people think it is wrong. Even in this he is borrowing from the Christian perspective because he's assuming language can be intelligent. Really, if someone says something is right and wrong without basing it on the Bible they have no foundation to say it's right or wrong. God has created this world and He's given us directions for how we are to behave. The Bible says what's right, what's wrong, how we are to live, etc.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Things to Remember:

People often argue because of implications. For example, you could logically prove that without the existence of God the atheist has no foundation to believe that logic exists, but the unbeliever might be stubborn because of the implications of there being a God. If there is a God, the unbeliever will have to repent. They will have to radically change the way they see everything. They'll have to cease looking at themselves as the standard. They'll have to give up sin. Thus, someone may hold to a point because of the implications of changing.

God is sovereign. As stated, you can take any non-Christian worldview and show it to be internally inconsistent. Then you can contrast this with the Bible. However, it may seem like some people are blind. That's because they are. They are "dead in trespasses." It is the rich grace of God that raises people, not our arguments, though God may use us as a tool.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

God is loving, wise, and kind. For some reason Christians sometimes seem to have trouble with the fact that the Bible gives us the path for all of life. Maybe that's not stated well, but for some reason or another it seems they don't fully trust God or are nervous that He doesn't have the best in mind. Man is not wiser than God. God is awesome! He is loving, kind, gracious, all knowing, wise, powerful, just, etc. He created the whole universe, so why should we wonder if He knows how to run it? God created us to be able to fulfill His perfect will, so why should we be apprehensive about it? If He truly is loving (and He is) then let's trust Him. He certainly is worthy of it!

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Conclusion:

God's word is something we can trust; it is solid. In it God has revealed who He is, how creation began, why there is suffering, and much more. Most importantly, He has revealed how we can have a relationship with Him. The Creator of the universe has revealed Himself to us. How marvelous! How can we not want to know what He desires of us?

Where to Learn More:

• From God's word, the Holy Bible
• Van Til's Apologetic. This can be a hard book to read; be warned!
• Presuppositional Reasoning with False Faiths

New Series on What I Believe

My posts have been somewhat random, so I've decided to start blogging more systematically.

I'm beginning a series of posts on what I believe.  I tend to shy away from any potential conflict, but most of the posts will probably be on controversial issues.  Why?  There are two benefits of this:

1. I'm forced to clearly articulate what I believe and, very importantly, why.  As I get closer to being "grown up," this becomes crucial.
2. You can be encouraged and/or challenged.

So, here's a list of a few possible posts/topics:

• Introduction: Presuppositions and Foundations
• Money
• Eschatology
• Government
• Courtship vs. Dating
• Creation vs. Evolution
• Calvinism vs. Arminianism
• Entertainment

Of course, this list can be added to.  If you have any suggestions or requests I'd be happy to include them.

The posts will be broken into several sections.  Note that some of these will have to be divided into subsections, depending on the topic.

• Summary of what I believe
• What the Bible says about it
• Important things to remember
• Where to learn more

It seems most of the topics are on ethics (how should we live).  Every belief rests on some other belief.  Ultimately, the only logical foundation for ethics comes from the Bible.  Anyway, more on that next time!

Edit from April 2020: I realize I did not keep this up very well. Perhaps I must grow in perseverance.

I'm too Busy

Our decision process can be frightening.  Sometimes our minds are minds made up before we even begin to think.  Then, as we start considering what to do, we conveniently find reasons to support our choice.  In other words, we reached our determination by emotions.

Awhile ago I read that people sometimes complain how their families are falling apart, but, due to busyness, they can do nothing about it.  In reality, they don't want to face their problems and used their schedule as an excuse.  How often do we do this with smaller issues?

It's a question of priorities.  Are we willing to face tough challenges?  Or will we come up with a lame excuse to push them our of our minds?  While there are good excuses, many are lies in disguise.

Think you're too young?  Read about past and present stories of what teens have done.  Is something too hard, perhaps out of your comfort zone?  Jesus has called us into a battle, not a bed of ease.  I frequently use the old "I'm too busy" excuse.  Then I later find myself spending hours of time on things that are unimportant.

Let's take our minds captive.  We need to think through our choices logically, realizing that God's plans may not always be what we have in mind.  Instead of creating excuse after excuse, try to find reasons why your excuses might be wrong.

It's very hard to examine our choices critically, especially when we have emotions pulling us in one direction.  Not being willing to consider options objectively is a sure sign of an excuse.

Let's honest with God, others, and ourselves.

Review of What Color Is Your Parachute? (2013 Ed.)

What Color Is Your Parachute? is a book that attempts to help job seekers learn more about themselves, what type of job they should choose, where to locate jobs, and how to get hired.  Though several different topics are covered, the main part of the book gives information and exercises for finding out more about yourself.

Richard Bolles has been writing this book for forty years.  Sort of.  Each year a new edition comes out.  He claims that "it's morphed into something very different, over time.  The 2012 edition is quite different even from the 2011."  Therefore this review is only for the 2013 edition.  Reviews of other editions may be very different.

Unique is the word that comes to my mind when trying to describe this book.  Though it's a book for people seeking employment, it uses a different approach.  In fact, I doubt that someone who knows with absolute certainty the exact kind of job they want will gain much benefit from the first half of the book.  What Color Is Your Parachute? approaches the job hunting question by first asking you and giving you exercises to help you find out who you are and what jobs would you be interested in and then using this information to help guide you through the rest of the search for employment.

Before reading it, what were your first impressions?

When I finished high school it was not quite clear to me what type of further education or job I should get.  There were lots of fields that seemed interesting, but nothing that stood out.  So I decided to take what I called a gap year to try to discover what I should pursue.  Mom got me several books.  Some of them were about what to do in a gap year.  Others were about jobs.  Among them I found What Color Is Your Parachute?

Interestingly enough, it turned out to be the last book I read.  After quickly glancing at the cover and skimming some pages, I assumed it was a boring book that was basically an index of job after job with description and salary after description and salary.  However, when I finally stopped judging it by its color, I was very surprised.

What's good about it?

If someone is going to do something well, it helps to be passionate about it.  Work can be tough, so it can be tough to maintain a positive attitude.  However, you have one less worry if you're doing something you know you should be doing.  What Color Is Your Parachute? helps readers to understand what it is they're good at, the conditions they enjoy working under, the kinds of people they like working with, and more.  This, in turn, makes everything more exciting.

Simple interactive assignments are quite frequent in the book.  For example, one of the exercises Bolles' has you do is write several short stories in which you accomplished something you're pleased with or overcame some obstacle.  Then he gives a list of skills and asks you to analyze your stories for where these skills may have been used.  You note which skills were used most frequently.  A grid is then given where you can prioritize these skills.  Finally, you note what category they fall into.  For example, I found that, of working with people, ideas, or things, I almost always worked with ideas.

Though a lot of the book seeks to help workers learn what they really want to do, What Color Is Your Parachute? does not neglect the other aspects of job hunting.  Among other things, the current job market, resumes, interviewing, and the impact of social media are discussed in detail.

What Color Is Your Parachute? is easy to read.  The author's writing style is not hard to understand and what is writes seems to flow well.  The organization of the book is also generally good.  Those who love lists will be thrilled with Richard Bolles' frequent usage of them.

How it impacted me:

Besides giving many useful tips on how to land a job, this book helped me better understand who I am, what I'm interested in, and what talents I have.

There are many things that God has used to shape my life, but I think He used this book to connect several of the seemingly unrelated experiences I've gone through, desires I have, and skills He's put in my possession.

Currently I'm very interested in mechanical engineering (or closely related jobs), partly because of this book.  This book helped me realize that I love inventing, improving things, planning, and solving problems; prefer to work alone or with a team of honest people; like working with ideas; and lots of other useful stuff about myself.  Interestingly enough, I knew most or all of this already.  However, pulling all of this information together on one piece of paper made everything so much clearer.  When I researched mechanical engineering and the people who generally do well in it, it became apparent that engineering was something to seriously consider.

Of course, I don't have all the answers.  I could end up doing something totally different.  Yet now I realize that I was interested in investing as a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.  As mentioned, learning how things work has always been something I've been interested in and generally grasp easily. I'm also interested in supporting/doing missions. Engineering could actually work well with that since engineers are needed all over the world and they usually make good money.  How all that will work out I don't know.  Also, I'm definitely not yet committed to engineering.  We'll have to see how God leads.  Nevertheless, it seems clear that I should pursue it for the time being.

Though this discussion could be continued, it seems that it is getting off topic.  Anyway, if you have any thoughts or questions about this please post them here or send them to me privately.  (Proverbs 15:22)

So is there anything bad about it?

Bolles' incorrect grammar may cause dizziness, insanity, and great frustration.  In all seriousness, he does make a lot of inaccuracies.  I'd call them mistakes, but he does them on purpose.  He has a note about this, saying that he uses commas where he'd pause when speaking.  Though technically incorrect, this should not impair the reader's understanding.

What Color Is Your Parachute? has several appendices.  One of them is about religion.  In the beginning of the book Bolles claims to be a devout Christian (and ordained in the Episcopalian church for fifty years) and he again asserts this in this appendix.  However, one of his early comments about "deciding" not to use the universal approach is disturbing from a presuppositional standpoint.  What does it mean if he's the one who decides whether or not to use one religious perspective over another?  Unfortunately, he later shows strong signs of being a universalist when he says that though he will speak from the context of his particular faith, the reader may be able to translate and apply it to theirs.  He continues by saying that he believes that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but that he also agrees with St. Peter "that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him."  In the context of Bolles' discussion, his reference to the "no partiality" is taken completely out of context.

Finally, the whole idea of learning more about yourself, though possible to be done in a biblical way, can be dangerous.  It's easy to fall into the "I, me, mine, and this is what I want" humanistic mentality.  If a reader is prayerfully seeking God's will, this book could benefit them greatly, but it's vitally important that they don't lose sight of God when examining God's gifts.  We should seek to learn the ways God created us unique, but always remember that He created us unique to reflect His glory, not ours.

What should a reader commit to before reading it?

Doing the exercises, not just skimming over them.  I frequently skip the practical assignments that are mentioned in books, but am very glad that I did the assignments in What Color Is Your Parachute?  Without them, the positive aspects of the book lose almost all their strength.  So invest the time.  Generally, the harder something is, the more rewards that result from it.

Conclusion:

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the effect that What Color Is Your Parachute? had on me.  It's not hard to read and it's amazing what some of the tests can do.  Ultimately, if a reader can maintain the right perspective while reading this book, it can be very rewarding.

Oh, if you have any thoughts about my future feel free to share them with me.  If interested, I've always said that there are three downsides to college: time, money, and a bad environment (just look at some statistics).  However, if I want to get into engineering, I'll likely need to invest the time for college.  Assuming certain tests go well, it might be possible to get a scholarship.  Thus, money would be taken care of.  Finally, if I go locally and seek out other believers at the college, I should have plenty of accountability.  Thoughts?

3 Ways to Honor Parents

God has given us the command which says to “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you" (Exodus 20:12).

How exactly do we do this?  I've often found that it's easy to think of specific actions which relate to the other nine commandments, but the fifth commandment's application is something I've sometimes thought about in general, not in relation to specific actions.  How exactly do we honor our parents?

When watching movies it's often quite clear when kids dishonor their parents.  Perhaps when you were in the store you overheard a conversation between a parent and their child that wasn't so great.

But what about me?  Sure, I can try to avoid dishonoring my parents, yet the command, while carrying negative implications, is positive.  I've been thinking about that a lot lately, and I hope to present three ideas which may be of benefit to you.

Before proceeding further, it's probably important to note that I'm praise myself or put down others.  Actually, for the last week I've been debating whether I'd be a hypocrite by publishing this.  In the end I've decided to publish it because it might be an incentive to me to do better if I've posted it here.  Also, I had this post previewed :-)

The following three things sometimes seem very small, but remember that “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much" (Luke 16:10).

Sometimes they seem very big and hard.  In those cases remember the encouraging verse which says: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13)

1. Be completely honest with your parents.

Proverbs 23:26 says: "My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways."  Do you have things hidden from your parents?  Hiding things from them hinders us from giving our hearts to them, and is a way to dishonor them.  Sharing everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) with our parents is a way to bring great honor to them.

How many people love your more than anything, feed you, cloth you, desire your best, sacrifice tons for you, teach you God's word, answer any question, give you honest feedback, and simply pour unconditional love into you for two decades or so?

Not many people!  Perhaps you think you'll someday have a spouse to pour your heart out to, but why not do so with your parents now?  Simply ask them it they can talk.  What gratitude our parents deserve!  Don't hide anything from them.  Keeping secrets from them will be a drain on our relationship with them.  We really aren't showing who we truly are if we wont share certain things with them.  Be totally open to them.

2. Honor your parents in your conversations with them.

This is probably what most of us think of when we think about honoring parents.  It's very important.  The Bible has so much to say about speech and communication.

Think about your words.  You'll likely have much more regret over the things you say than the things you don't say.  Also watch your body language.

If you have a disagreement, ask how you can bring honor to God in the situation.  Make sure you tell them the truth (don't hide things) but do so in a spirit of humility, realizing that they're your parent and that you might be wrong.  Ask them to explain themselves.  How many times in Proverbs does Solomon write: "My son, listen..."  Have open communication.

The tongue is very powerful and can bring about great honor or great dishonor.

3. Honor them behind their backs.

Sometimes things about your parents will nag you and it will seem so natural to vent your feelings to someone else.  However, it is in these times we must resist the temptation to dishonor our parents.

If you don't have something good to say, don't say anything at all.

One of the worst things you can do to your relationship with your parent (or with anyone else) is to complain about them to someone else.

Ask yourself how your parents would feel if they could see everything you've said about them in the past twenty-four hours.  How about for longer?  Or shorter?

What if you think your parents don't deserve your honor?

Well, to be quite frank, our opinions are not conditionals to the command to honor our parents.  You must still obey God's command to honor your parents.

All humans, including your parents, are fallen and have faults.  I've been blessed with fabulous parents who seek to be obey God.  What if you don't have this blessing?  They are accountable to God for how they parent you.  You are the one who is accountable for how you honor your parents.

Remember that in everything, including conflicts, there are instructions given to us by God in His word, the Bible.  Assuming the conflict is not something that can simply be covered in love, or dealt with easily, Matthew 18 gives the way to deal with someone who sins against you.  Two wrongs don't make a right.

Also, remember that it takes two to dance.  In other words, look for your own faults first.  We must ask ourselves how we have contributed to the problem.

My desire is that this will be a blessing to you.  It's easy to think our relationships with our parents are quite good, but then maybe we realize how much we've been hiding from them.  Correcting this will be a huge relief.  What's one specific action you will take today to honor your parents?

A Funny Story I Wrote when I was Twelve

As the title mentions, I attempted to write a humorous story when I was twelve years old.  The first few paragraphs of it I consider to be quite lame, but after a little while the craziness starts getting to me.  I honestly have no idea what others will think of it.

Some of the grammar and spelling has been corrected, but otherwise it's unchanged.

Chapter 1
I start the case and find the robbers.

July 22, 10:30 AM

Hi!  My name is Dexter Bennet.  I am a private investigator.

Right now I’m being briefed by my boss, Mr. Moneybanks, on a bank robbery.  I ought to be listening to him.  Did you know that listening is a virtue?  It is.  I like to listen.  That reminds me, I’m supposed to be listening to Mr. Moneybanks.  I think it would be a good idea.  I think I will!

“The bank teller said he was about 6 foot 2, had black hair, blue eyes...”

I started to panic.  I had not sleepwalked in a year or so, but I did fit the description of what he described!

“He demanded the money and pointed a Glock at the teller.”

Now my palms were sweating!  I always used a Glock on my assignments.

“He wore black sunglasses.”

Now I was almost shivering with fear.  The color drained from my face. I thought about confessing right there and then, but I waited, just to be sure.

“You okay?” asked Mr. Moneybanks.

Honestly, I was sick to my stomach with fear. I decided to tell him the truth and hope for the best. “Well...I...umm...How do I explain?...Okay,  I didn’t know what I was doing.  I am sorry.  I must have robbed the bank.”

“You WHAT?!”  screamed Mr. Moneybanks.

How did I explain this to him?  I guess I’d just try and hope for the best.  “I’m sorry,” I said.  “I really am.  I must have robbed it in my sleep.”

“What do you mean?  Why do you think you did it?”

“Well, your description fit me perfectly,” I said, beginning to worry even more.

“Bwhahahahhahhahahahhahahahahhaahahahahahahha!” Mr. Moneybanks roared with laughter.

How could he do this to me when I had just confessed?  Some people would have lied about it.  I was brave and now I would probably go to jail for a hundred years!  “Why are you laughing at me?”

“Hahahahahahahahahaha” laughed the doubled over Mr. Moneybanks.

What was so funny?  Why was he so cruel?  He almost choked he was laughing so hard.

Finally he said, “Dexter, You didn’t do it!  The criminal had a large drooping mustache.”

I felt the color returning back to my face.  I felt redder than a tomato.  Mr. Moneybanks laughed and laughed.  I turned redder and redder.  This case was not going so well.

After calming down somewhat, Mr. Moneybanks told me I had an interesting brain.  I did not appreciate that.

“We will pay you well for this job.  Just make sure you don’t arrest yourself,”  he chuckled.

I didn’t get what was so funny.

“There will be a room for you in the Sunnysprings Police Station.  Mr. Krackleberry is the sheriff.  He will help you with anything you need.”


11:10 AM, July 22

As I drove toward Sunnysprings I reviewed the few clues we had: drooping mustache (that was most important to me), blue eyes, 6’2” tall... Wait a sec, how did I know that he was 6’2” tall?  What if he was 6’2” wide?  Why, we could all be looking with the wrong description!

I quickly called Mr. Moneybanks and told him about the the terrible mistake that could be made.  After laughing some more he told me that nobody could be 6 feet wide and rob a bank.  Then he hung up.

That was rude!   The robber could be 6 feet wide and rob a bank. After all, Mr. Moneybanks was fat, and he was active. Sorta.  Well, OK, maybe not 6 feet fat, but we couldn’t rule out the possibility that the robber was 6 feet wide!  I would just keep my eyes open for any 6 foot fat people who were active.

12:00 AM, July 22

I walked into a restaurant in Sunnysprings.  I ordered two hamburgers and sat down.  I slowly scanned the restaurant looking for the bank robber.  At the table next to me sat a husband and his wife.  The man was about 6’2”, had a mustache, but he had blond hair and brown eyes. The woman had black hair and blue eyes.

Hmmmmm. Maybe there had been an error in Mr. Moneybank’s description of the robber.  Maybe there were actually two robbers!  Maybe the man was 6’2” and had a mustache while the woman had black hair and blue eyes!

There!  I’d figured out who the robbers were.  Wouldn’t Mr. Moneybanks be impressed!

Well, I’d have to make sure they were the robbers before I arrested them, but I couldn’t wait to tell them that the jig was up!

Lets see, I would need to be able to track them.  A tracking bug would do well for that.  I pulled one out of my pocket.  It was the size of a nickel and had 'TRACKING BUG' printed in red on it.

Suddenly my attention was drawn to the robber’s table.  They stood up and walked to the counter.  I overheard him complain that they had ordered salads but had gotten hot dogs.

A waitress came and took the hot dogs off the table.  The robbers said they’d be back in a minute and walked out the door.

This was my chance!  I could put the tracking bug on something they would take with them.  Lets see, what could I attach it to?  They’d had a food crisis so maybe I could put it on some of their food. Maybe I could put it on my hamburger and put it on their table!

I shifted my eyes making sure nobody was watching, lifted the burger close to my eyes, and put the bug in it. Ah!  The smell of onion was almost too hard to resist!  I told myself I had to keep control, but the ketchup looked so good!  Before I knew it I had taken a bite out of it!

Now what would I do?  A burger with a bite taken out of it was sure to draw their attention.  A tear slipped down my cheek.  I had probably failed the mission before starting.  Why had I taken that bite?

Wait!  I had another burger!  Relief flooded back into me.  I took a bite of it and spit it out.  I lifted the piece into the spot where I’d taken a bite of the bugged hamburger I had made, but now there was a bite mark on the burger.  I patched it up with ketchup as good as I could.  Maybe these people liked ketchup on top of their burgers. After all, robbers are wierdos.

The robbers’ salads came out.  I quickly put the burger on their table.

After a minute of my anxious waiting, thinking that maybe they had left, they came back in.  I quickly moved back to my seat.

The man sat down and looked at me.  I tried to act like I was not looking at him.

“Were you sitting here?” He asked.

“Yeah. sorry, I wasn’t really thinking.”

The woman tapped her husband and pointed to the burger.  I pretended not to notice.

The man made a strange face and said “Do you know what this burger is doing here?”

Oh-no!  Dread gripped me.  What would I answer?  I quickly took a bite of the other hamburger and made a one minute sign with my finger.  Hmmm.  Should I tell him: I’m sorry sir, but I have to arrest you and your wife for bank robbery?  No, I decided not yet.  I needed more info. Should I tell him I didn’t want it and thought he would?  No, it didn’t sound right.

I got it!  I quickly founded an organization in my mind and said, “I’m part of an organization that give sandwiches out to the poor, the starving, and the homeless.  I thought you might be poor.”

The woman stared at me in shock.  I tried to keep a normal face.  Her face looked so funny.  I might laugh at it.

“We are the richest people in Sunnysprings!”

Well, that made sense, bank robbers had money they’d stolen.

“Why does the burger have bite marks on it?” the man asked.

Another problem!  I quickly found an answer.  “I want people to know what organization gave them the food, so I always take a bite out first.”

The man and woman looked at me, both with weird faces.  I tried not to laugh at these dumb robbers.  Hadn’t they ever heard of giving to the poor?  Hadn’t they ever heard of marking the product or thing the company made or did?

“Well, we don’t want it.” said the man who’s face now looked even funnier then before.

Yet another problem.  I’d have to get the bug to them some other way.

I picked up the bugged hamburger and took a bite.  What was that hard thing?  Suspision filled my mind.  A time bomb? A poisoned coin?  A knife about to spring open?  What was it that the murderer had put in my burger?  It was mine after all!  Not his.  I spit the hard thing onto the man’s plate.  I didn’t want to get the bomb in my face when it exploded!

The couple glared at me and then looked at his plate.  It was my bug.  Depression flooded through me faster than light.

The man looked at me with an expresion demanding an explanation.  “This says tracking bug on it!”

My phone rang.  Whew!  That was close.  I quickly walked away and picked it up.

It was Mr. Moneybanks.  “We found a witness to the crime who was outside the bank.  She says the robber drove a black pickup.  She is not sure what make or year.”

“Don’t worry about it,”  I said.  “I found the robbers.  Yes, there as a mistake in the report I was given!  There were two robbers.”

I was sure you could hear Mr. Moneybank’s yell ten blocks away.  After telling me that there was only one robber, he hung up.  I decided not to go back inside the restaurant.

Chapter 2

I hope it made you laugh!  If it did, post a comment saying so.  If not, try reading it out loud to someone else.  Read it slowly and try to imagine the story actually happening.  ;-)

There have been several times that I tried to write chapter two, but could never get it to sound right.

Proverbs 17:22 says that a merry heart does good, like a medicine.  Whether you thought my story was very dry or extremely hilarious, I think it's important to remember that while humor is good, only spiritual joy is really lasting.  Other joys can fade away, but the joy that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit will stay even while going through tough times.  (BTW, I'm doing very well right now :D Praise be to God!)

The Answer to Everything You Need to Know

In today's world there are so many questions.  Why do bad things happen?  Why cannot people just love each other?  What is truth?  What to do with life?  What to do with money?  How to be saved?  The list goes on and on.

You have questions.  I have questions.  So what's the answer?  This isn't just a blog to discourage us, right?

In answer to the last question, no, I'm not just musing about a problem without mentioning a solution.

Before I tell you the solution though, please don't just dismiss it.  Investigate it.  Think about it.  Test it out.

All the questions we need answers for are found in the word of God, the Bible.  He has provided the solution.

2 Timothy 3:16-17:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Man's work faileth, Christ's availeth.  Since that's such a nice hymn I'll copy the rest here:

Praise the Savior now and ever;

Praise Him, all beneath the skies;

Prostrate lying, suff’ring, dying

On the cross, a sacrifice.

Vict’ry gaining, life obtaining,

Now in glory He doth rise.

Man’s work faileth, Christ’s availeth;

He is all our righteousness;

He, our Savior, has forever

Set us free from dire distress.

Through His merit we inherit

Light and peace and happiness.

Sin’s bonds severed, we’re delivered,

Christ has bruised the serpent’s head;

Death no longer is the stronger,

Hell itself is captive led.

Christ has risen from death’s prison,

O’er the tomb He light has shed.

For His favor, praise forever,

Unto God the Father sing;

Praise the Savior, praise Him ever,

Son of God, our Lord and King.

Praise the Spirit, through Christ’s merit,

He doth us salvation bring.

Seriously, do you ever expect to get a full satisfaction from another person, a place, or a thing?  People are in God's image and God has given many people a lot of wisdom, but all of them fall short if we look to them as a savior.

So, got questions about your purpose, health, marriage, money, politics, school, or something else?

God is just and merciful, and He has provided the answers.

If you don't know much about Christianity or the Bible I encourage you to get in contact with vibrant Christians who can help you.

If you are a Christian, please make sure you are consistent and follow the Bible in everything.

God's word is all we need.  Get rid of autonomy.  Obey Him and He guarantees that He will bless you.

Focusing on God in the Ups and Downs of Life

The sermon I heard last Sunday was on James 5:13-20, but focused especially on James 5:13, which says:

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.

Basically, when we have downs in life, instead of falling into self-pity, we need to pray.  When we have ups in life, instead of becoming self-absorbed or possessed by possessions, we need to praise God and give Him the glory.

This is very simple, yet so comprehensive. I knew about this verse earlier, but was greatly impacted by it this week. God's word really is powerful!

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  (Hebrews 4:12)

Keep a Christ-centered life and you'll keep the right perspective!

Back to Blogger!

Hi, after leaving Blogger for Word Press I've come back.

I switched back because Word Press allows more flexibility in design, but I don't use it.  Blogger is free and it is much easier to keep track of other people's blogs with it.

In the future I hope to keep active in the blogging world.

God bless,
Stephen

Edit: Despite setting the publishing dates in the past, all the posts I just moved here are showing up in my reading list.  Sorry about this.