Riches Without Sorrow

 Friday 29th October 2021

Hello my angels, and I hope you are well! I certainly am, I love university and everyone there.

So this post actually wasn't planned. 👀 I mean, the title was planned but what I actually wanted to say in this post wasn't planned. 

But I have an idea on what I'm going to say.

With that note, this is probably the first time that I'm posting something without planning it. This wasn't a random topic though, I actually foreshadowed this, I did on the 7th of October when I said and I quote:

I hope you can read that. You can't exactly zoom in. I'm not sure why screenshots are pretty blurry. That's beyond me, but I'll try and fix it if I can.

As the title suggests, today's topic is riches without sorrow. Then I promise promise promise it's back to the Psalms 119 commentary again.

It may seem like I'm avoiding that topic. I'm really not. 

See, the good thing and bad thing about me (not respectively) is that I come up with a lot of ideas fast, sometimes so quick that I neglect old ideas I already had. But I mean it this time - it's back to that commentary.

Because I only planned the Title, I can't lie, I used the Open Heavens for the 18th February to help me. That's even where I got the title of today's message from.

On to today's topic then- did you know that you can be rich without experiencing sorrow? This is being rich in God.

When I say without sorrow, I'm not saying you live a perfect life without stress. As much as I would love that, I feel like I would be bored of that after the novelty wears off.

But being rich without sorrow means being rich in the right way, and could maybe indirectly be talking about Heaven.

The Open Heavens devotional for the 18th February* says

God wants His children to be rich, but according to our Bible reading today, He warns them to flee the inordinate ambition to be rich at all costs. 

These days, many people engage in cyber-crime and ritual killings just to get rich. 

There are some others who are good at falsifying figures so as to get some gain.

*I know it's not 18th February and we're far from it, but the Riches Without Sorrow was on that day.

Let me quickly mention the memory verse for the Open Heavens reading.

Those who won’t share what they have want to get rich.
    They don’t know they are going to be poor. Proverbs 28:22

You've probably wanted to be rich before, and there was something very powerful I heard during some voice recording today. I went to a midweek service at university on Thursday the 7th, and I heard something.

I normally record sermons on my phone to listen to later. Plus I can't write fast. I can type fast but I don't have enough storage. Which is something else I need to work on.

Mature Christians know why they want to do something. Immature Christians do not.

So in this scenario, you really need to think about why you want to become rich, assuming you want to be rich. I'd rather be rich than famous - at least then I'd have a higher chance at keeping my privacy.

If you're thinking this  for example when you want to be rich:

I want to be rich so that I can show philanthropy towards poorer people

It's a lot better than this.

I want to be rich so that I can flaunt my money online and get whatever I want.

I mean, some people actually think that. And even if they don't, God always knows our true intentions to something, whether we realise it or not.

Jeremiah 17:10 The Lord says, “I look deep down inside human hearts.

    I see what is in people’s minds.
I reward each person in keeping with their conduct.
    I bless them based on what they have done.”

God is more likely to give you money if you're using it for the first philanthropic reason than the second selfish one.

Philanthropy means benevolence or generosity.. and I swear I'm always spelling it wrong  😆 but it seems like one of those fancy words with a very simple meaning.

I'm not saying that God will always give you money if he knows you want to use it for the right reasons. He'll only give it to you if he knows it's not going to destroy you and if it's according to his will.

I have a story of someone who fell to their destruction with money. A non biblical example and a biblical one.

I got sent a video on Whatsapp about a black man who had flaunted his money online. On Instagram, he would always post about his luxurious life - and I'm pretty sure he had a car for everyday of the week.

He had a private jet I believe, and he had lived in a mansion. Long story short, the more he had posted online, the more people had gotten suspicious as to where he had gotten the money from.

Someone had eventually got dirt on him and the dirt was all of his money was from gambling. I'm not sure if I've told y'all this story or not, but he had gotten text messages telling him to press here for like a million dollars or something.

He did it and he had gotten all the money. Everything he had bought, he had to return back, not just that but he got arrested. His lies had caught up with him. 

I don't know his name or want to.

And in the Bible, you can use Nebuchadnezzar. He was very proud and we all know what had happened to him at the end of the day.

He had turned into an animal for 7 years.

Speaking of the Bible, here are 2 pretty common verses on money and why you shouldn't love it.

1 Timothy 6:10 Love for money causes all kinds of evil. Some people want to get rich. They have wandered away from the faith. They have wounded themselves with many sorrows.

Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters at the same time. You will hate one of them and love the other. Or you will be faithful to one and dislike the other. You can’t serve God and money at the same time.

I've said a lot of things, so let me go back to Open Heavens again.

I assure you that ill-gotten wealth will always have sorrow in it. 

I have seen all kinds of wealth in my little time as a Pastor and tell you, many wealthy people are living in so much sorrow that they are willing to give up all they have in exchange for peace of mind. 

Many people have used ill-gotten money to buy cars without knowing that they have bought what would drive them to their early graves.

You see, if you follow the will of God, He will bless you without adding any sorrow. I believe this is the kind of wealth you want: wealth with no sorrow attached.

Let me tell y'all something - just because someone is happy.... doesn't mean they're actually happy.

You're probably thinking Lola, you just literally said the same thing.

But I know what I'm saying. 

Just because someone is smiling doesn't mean that they're actually happy inside, especially on social media. Some people just use it to hide their pain. Some people carry their problems well.

For example, someone might have a friend. In front of them, they're all happy and they act as if they're really close. But behind closed doors, you may ask them about their friend and they say.

I can't stand them.

Or something like that.

Some people hide things well. 

I'm sure on set you've heard of on screen best friends who hate each other in real life, or more commonly I believe - on screen enemies that are best friends in real life. 

I'm not a big fan of High School Musical at all but for instance Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) are very close in real life even though they didn't like each other in HSM.

And you're thinking but you guys seem so close! when the person tells you that they can't stand their friend.

That's why the word seem is important. Something seeming as something and genuinely being that thing is completely different.

Coincidentally, when I was writing this, I was listening to some YouTube videos about chasing fame. This all happened when God sent me a video on my homepage called Stop Chasing Fame.

Some YouTube videos just show up on your homepage that you actually needed to listen to - it's like God read your mind and knows what you want to listen to.

This post in a way is about chasing fame and how you should stop it. I can't lie, I used to chase fame most of the time, however I have stopped all of that now. I am beyond grateful for what I have.

The pastor for this Open Heavens message is saying that some famous people would actually give up everything they have just for a peace of mind. Fame is too much for them and they are tired of it. They lowkey just want to have a normal life.

I know a lot of people who have fallen to their destruction because of fame. Or even worse they've died, but let me not mention their names.

This is the last time I'm going to quote from Open Heavens in this post.

This clearly means that the only way to get wealth without sorrow is to get it in righteousness. I assure you according to the word of God that riches will pursue and overtake you if you put the kingdom of God first in your life

When any opportunity to get rich through sin comes your way, you had better flee, because wrapped in that juicy fruit is sorrow and destruction.

Only God can give you wealth without any kind of sorrow attached to it. Seek Him first.

Let's not forget 1 Corinthians 15:58 and Matthew 6:33

But put God’s kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do. Then all those things will also be given to you. Matthew 6:33

 My dear brothers and sisters, remain strong in the faith. Don’t let anything move you. Always give yourselves completely to the work of the Lord. Because you belong to the Lord, you know that your work is not worthless. 1 Corinthians 15:58

The 1 Corinthians quote - I know it but never what it actually says. Now I know both. 😁

A lot of people in the Bible were rich, without sorrow. I got this following paragraph from this website: 

Are There Wealthy Christians In The Bible?

In his discussion of Acts 2-5, Art Lindsley lists several examples from the New Testament of wealthy believers who gave generously to those in need. Among these Christians are:

• Joseph, called Barnabas (Acts 4:36-37)
• Dorcas (Acts 9:36)
• Cornelius (Acts 10:1)
• Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6-12)
• Lydia (Acts 16:14-15)
• Jason (Acts 17:5-9)
• Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3)
• Mnason of Cyprus (Acts 21:16)
• Philemon (Philemon 1)

These believers lived faithful Christian lives in addition to enjoying wealth. 

It’s important to take note of the example they set. Art makes a point of saying these people “were wealthy and gave generously.” Their actions illustrate the responsibilities placed upon the wealthy because of how they have been blessed.

I pray that God will give you the riches you want. But you have ensure that you are using your riches for all of the right reasons.

Before I close today, I have one more story.

A millionaire had died this week I believe due to a heart attack. He had been married 8 weeks prior. He was only 33.

That's why you shouldn't be too attached to riches. As soon as you die, they will be given to someone else who may or may not have worked for it. You can find this in Ecclesiastes 2:21

A person might use wisdom, knowledge and skill to do their work. But then they have to leave everything they own to someone who hasn’t worked for it. That doesn’t have any meaning either. In fact, it isn’t fair.

So essentially, if you want riches without sorrow, you have to follow God and walk in righteousness! I hope you were blessed today and I will see you in Underrated Bible Scriptures (Part 6) when I update next!

(The Cosby Show)

If you can't tell, I love The Cosby Show - it's my favourite sitcom!! I know Cosby did some unforgivable things but this show is a gem and it can't be duplictated.

Till next time, Lola!

25 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Love The World (Last 5)

 Monday 18th October 2021

It's a long one today! 

But I guess that's okay

Because I haven't been here for a quite long time anyway

I forgot the date for a second. It's been like that lately. But hope you guys have been well.

It's been a while: almost two weeks now. But just because I don't post doesn't mean that I don't think about this website. And unfortunately just because I think about the website doesn't mean that I'm going to post either.

It depends how long it's been since I actually have.

Welcome to the last Part of 25 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Love the World. I got everything from this website:

Do Not Love The World

Without further ado, let's begin!

Love for the World Pushes Out Love for the Father

What the website says

// 

The first incentive John gives is that “if anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him” (verse 15b).

 In other words, the reason you shouldn’t love the world is that you can’t love the world and God at the same time. Love for the world pushes out love for God, and love for God pushes out love for the world.

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

 So don’t love the world, because that would put you in the class with the God-haters whether you think you are or not. “If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.” That’s the first reason John gives not to love the world. 

//

The website additionally makes some references to the verse following that, aka verse sixteen, which says:

All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. - 1 John 2:16

But if all I did today was to just copy what the website said then that doesn't do this post much justice, does it? 

You might as well just read the website I hyperlinked earlier, which was where I got all this information from anyway.

Let's quickly look at what the lust of the eyes, the pride of life and the lust of the flesh are before I continue.

The lust of the flesh can include things such as having an intense desire for food, as in constantly. It can additionally mean to desire anything to do with your senses. From This Website, it says that

 The “lust of the flesh” is all desires centred in your nature without regard to the will of God. It is that which constantly fights against the things of God in your life. The lust of the flesh is contrary to the desire to do the will of God. 

If you would like a simpler definition, the lust of flesh is simply  sexual desires, aka libido.

In the meantime, lust of the eyes is to have what we see or is to have something which is visually appealing to us. People can fall in this category, as in lustfully looking at someone but I think that is more to do with the lust of the flesh than the eyes.

Lust of the eyes is mainly to do with money. 

And whilst I do wish that money falls on you, as in you have it abundantly - at the same time  you do have to realise that there is more to life than money.

Not just that but money doesn't buy happiness.

I'll admit that sometimes I have been very careless with money, thankfully not lately though. And I don't think there can't be a time where you haven't been careless with money.

If you've never been careless with money in your life then congrats, I truly respect you. Wanting (a lot of) money isn't the only thing that falls under lust of the eyes though. And I'll get back to money in a sec.

Coveting what someone else has can fall under this category as well. 

Proverbs 14:30; "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." Don't forget this scripture. All scriptures are important, whether you realise it or not.

But let me ask you something.

How do you know that the person that has what you want is really happy with what they have that you want?

Have you asked them?

I'm just tripping, you don't have to ask them, especially if you don't know them or you're not close to them... or you're not comfortable asking. Anything.

Let me give you a scenario. Person A, a boy, let's call him Destiny and Person B, a girl, let's call her Zariah. 

I've heard of some guys out there called Destiny 👀😁. I would have just called them Person A and B but I always leave them nameless. I wanted to try something different for once.

Destiny is extremely popular but he doesn't like it. Zariah has always wanted to be popular. They're coincidentally next door neighbours but they don't really talk, until Zariah talks to Destiny about everything, when she, for example sees him coming home from school.

Think of it as a script, ish.

Zariah: Destiny, can I ask you something?

Destiny: *reluctantly* I'm not in the mood really, but yeah, I guess, what's up?

Zariah: What do you mean you're not in the mood? Are you okay?

*Destiny is silent. He is thinking about whether he should tell Zariah his problems or not, especially how he doesn't really know her. After a long time, he makes up his mind.*

Destiny: I'm just tired of people using me.

Zariah: *confused* In what way?

Destiny: I'm extremely popular but it just seems as though all of my so called *in air quotes* "friends" are superficial. They're only using me to get something from me. Or to be popular themselves. Everyone wants me to do something for them, but no one really stops to ask me how my day has been. I can't tell my real friends, if any, from the fake ones. I felt bad for this girl who genuinely wanted to be my friend but I unintentionally overlooked her due to everyone else treating her badly.

*continued* I constantly have to pretend to be happy even though I might not be on the inside. I'm not saying I'm ungrateful, and I'm not saying that popularity is bad -- it's just that sometimes I wish I had a normal life. Being popular is not my destiny and I don't want it to be anymore. It was fun while it lasted but now I am just done.

And then some...

Long story short, Destiny is ranting to Zariah about his problems with being popular, which really makes Zariah think. All this time she wanted to be that way but now she's not so sure.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. That's why you shouldn't really be envying what someone else has, especially online. Who says that, for instance, that a fancy new car someone has is even theirs? 

Maybe it's their parents', and shortly after, they got yelled at by them to stop flaunting their car online, as well as pretending as if it was theirs.

Someone could be less happy with what they have that you want than before they had it. This was a wake up call for me too, and I deliberately used the popularity example because I have been chasing it online on a specific platform a lot this week.

Luckily, I haven't actually acted on my desires to be well known online or will act on it because God said a straight up no anyway. Besides the popular people might not even be happy.

I'm not against popularity, I'm sure it's great, this was just an example.

I said that I would go back to money and I'm going to do that now before I move on to the next point.

What if I want a lot of money for a good purpose? Is that lust of the flesh?

It depends how badly you want it and what you are going to do to get it.

 It also depends what you need the money for.

But if you can wait for the money to come to you and if it is genuinely for a good cause then I guess it's not lust of the flesh at all. If receiving money makes you feel this way:

(I love The Cosby Show so so much, I'm watching it right now, one of the best sitcoms out there. 

It genuinely can't be duplicated)

Then the person who gave you the money, The Lord, should make you feel like dancing too.

On to the next point!

The World and Its Lusts Will Pass

The website says and I copy and paste:

//

First, in verse 17a he says, “And the world passes away, and the lust of it.” 

Nobody buys stock in a company that is sure to go bankrupt. 

Nobody sets up house in a sinking ship. No reasonable person would lay up treasure where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, would they? 

The world is passing away! To set your heart on it is only asking for heartache and misery in the end.

That’s not all: Not only is the world passing away, but also the lusts of it.

 If you share the desires of the world, you will pass away. You will not only lose your treasure. You will lose your life. If you love the world, it will pass away and take you with it. “The world passes away and the lust of it.”

//

I just remembered that I forgot to talk about what the pride of life is in the previous point, I'll do it here though because the first point is pretty long already.

I am happy to announce that if you don't love the world, then you are truly a child of God.

(Adonai by Castro and Sarkodie)

Not just that but read John 12:25, which says:

Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.

But wait a minute!

Some people may read this out of context, in the sense that they might think that if they don't care about anything in life then they will be alive for a long time.

Indirectly, this verse is saying that if you don't love the things of the world then your life will be saved, and if you do then that is normally when you will lose it.

Not always as God can give you mercy, or maybe it's just not your time to die yet. Not loving the world does not mean not loving people. You should always love them regardless of who they are.

Matthew 5:44 says love your enemies as yourself.

Let me quickly talk about what the pride of life is. It actually links to the extemporaneous popularity scene I did with Destiny and Zariah earlier. That most definitely wasn't planned - I even had trouble thinking of some nice names (that wasn't the name of anyone I know personally).

From This Website, the pride of life is this:

The third phrase, “the pride of life,” describes the arrogant spirit of self-sufficiency. It expresses the desire for recognition, applause, status, and advantage in life. The phrase describes the pride in what life can offer you.

When the Title says that the World and its Lust will pass, it also means the Pride of Life. Don't think that the pride of life isn't a part of this because it is.

Say a person really wants the pride of life, and they get it: they become really famous.

As soon as they die, this whole thing passes away and may subsequently be given to someone who may or may not have worked for it. This is indirectly talked about in Ecclesiastes 2:21, which you can find below.

Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy.

They may not even have worked wisely for anything. They may have just had a lot of things. But like I said, as soon as you're gone, your possessions are instantly given to someone else, the person depending on what you wrote in your will or not. Assuming you wrote one.

You see, when someone is famous but then they die, they're going to stay famous for a while because they died then they're normally forgotten. 

On the other hand, some people will always be well known even well after their death, for example, I don't know, Michael Jackson, Tupac maybe and my personal favourite: Aaliyah.

Jesus was still well known after his death and he is my personal favourite too, however in this scenario I'm talking about people that have died and stayed that way.

But yes, all in all, don't love the world as we all have an appointed time to leave this Earth (Ecclesiastes 3:1) and when we do, none of the worldly things we may or may not obsess over will really matter anymore.

If You Do the Will of the Father, You Will Live Forever

The website says

//

Second, in verse 17b John says, “But he who does the will of God abides forever.” The opposite of loving the world is not only loving the Father (verse 15), but also doing the will of the Father (verse 17). 

And that connection is not hard to understand. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). John said in 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” So loving the Father in verse 15 and doing the will of God in verse 17 are not really separate things.

If you love God, you will love what he wills. It is empty talk to say I love God but I don’t love what God loves. So John is saying in verse 17, “If you love the world, you will perish with the world, but if you don’t love the world but love God, you will do his will and live with him forever.”

//

Let me talk about the part that says "it is empty talk to say 'I love God, but I don't love what God loves."

You know some people out there, and I guess I was like this too before I became close to God (and way before this website existed) - they may adapt the Bible based on what they want to hear.

Not literally, but mentally, for example, let's look at 1 Peter 2:18, which says:

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.

An obedient person will obey that word for word, but someone else might be thinking:

Nah, I'll only treat my master with respect if they respect me. If they don't like me then I will disrespect them. Why should I be good to the unjust? No way.

Don't be like this - listen to what the Bible says, word for word. Don't change anything to fit your own needs.

It's like obeying 7 of the commandments and ignoring 3 because "you don't like them". Do you really think you'll end up in Heaven that way? Of course not, unless you truly repent.

I too am trying to do the will of the father, as in, all the time, and University has really helped me with that. Hopefully, when I get older or in the future, doing it will be easier - but let's start now.

Let's all  start now.

One Way of Salvation

The website says:

//

John, when he comes to write his letter, can take “love for God” and “trust in Christ” and treat them as one way of salvation. Look how he does so in 5:3–4: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” 

In other words, it is our love for God that overcomes the obstacles of disobedience and makes the commandments of God a joy rather than a burden. “Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her” (Genesis 29:20). Love for God makes his service a joy and overcomes the forces of disobedience.

But then look at verse 4. Here he says the same thing but speaks of faith instead of love. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.” It is faith that overcomes the world — it is faith that conquers disobedience and renders the commandments of God a joy rather than a burden.

//

The only way is Up with God, however the only way is down with the world - most of the time anyway.

I can't remember where I heard the following sentence from, or when even but I know it was this month and year. Anyway, someone said:

The world will always try to take you away from God.

And it is so so true.

For example, let's say Person C, Priscilla has prayer at 7PM, or she wants to pray at seven.

But wait.

Priscilla totally forgot that a brand new season of her favourite show is coming up at that time, and she would have forgotten completely about it had her phone not reminded her two minutes before she was supposed to pray.

Now Priscilla is battling with herself on whether or not she should watch it. Even worse, it's a limited series  on Netflix and it's going away in two weeks. She doesn't have enough time to watch  everything after today.

So she promises herself one episode, leading to two, then three. Eventually, she has finished the entire season. Goodness knows where the time went but it's gone and now Priscilla knows she's seriously backslidden.

I wasn't indirecting anyone and using a pseudonym, or trying to make anyone feel guilty - this was just an example.

When distractions and temptations come up, know that the devil has caused it and he didn't cause it by accident. He wants to test your faith to see how much you're truly a child of God.

But don't forget 1 Peter 5:8, which says

Be watchful and control yourselves. Your enemy the devil is like a roaring lion. He prowls around looking for someone to swallow up.

There is only one way of salvation like the subheading suggests and it's surely not the devil's way!

Just ignore the devil, by telling him to get deep behind you. Don't worry, we are far better than the devil.

And last but not least...

Love for God and Love for the World Cannot Coexist

The website says

//

According to 1 John 2:15, if your love for God is cool this morning, it’s because love for the world has begun to take over your heart and choke your love for God. The love of the world and the love of the Father cannot coexist. And every heart loves something. The very essence of our nature is desire. 

There is nobody in this room who doesn’t want something. At the center of our heart is a spring of longing. But that’s an awkward image, isn’t it?

A longing is a craving, a desire, a want, a need. 

But these aren’t very well described as a spring. A spring of needs is a contradiction in terms. 

Springs bubble up; needs suck in. A longing is more like a drain — or a vacuum. At the center of our heart is a sucking drain — like at the bottom of a swimming pool. We are endlessly thirsty. But we can’t suck water and air at the same time.

If you try to satisfy your longing by sucking in the air of the world, you will not be able to drink the water of heaven. And eventually, your motor will burn up because you were made to pump the water of God, not the air of the world.

//

This is actually for me the most as I do unintentionally try to balance the two.  Especially recently.

And I do feel like giving the things of the world up completely will be difficult as we will hopefully be alive on this Earth for a long time, but I know with God, I will overcome.

It's not supposed to be easy, it's a gradual process and I pray that we will progressively start to give up the things of the world today amen.

That's all for today, sorry I got a bit tired towards the end.

 It took me just over 2 hours to write the whole post, and it normally does with no distractions. Hope you enjoyed and I shall see you next time.

Bye and hope you were blessed, Lola