Showing posts with label geld. Show all posts
Showing posts with label geld. Show all posts

Wednesday 3 June 2020

Over gaan tot een juiste focus

De lockdown en corona-crisis heeft heel wat mensen kopzorgen bezorgd. Meermaals werden wij bestookt met een heel reeks vragen welke verrassend genoeg nog niet leken behandeld te zijn in een Nederlandstalige website van ons. Op de Engelstalige sites kwamen wel veel van die aspecten aan bod, maar in het Nederlands zijn wij in gebreke gebleven.

Wij hebben hieraan proberen te verhelpen door de website Christen focus samen te stellen. De website behandelt de theologie en hoe wij met religie en geloof omgaan.




Zelfs degenen die Christus lange tijd hebben gevolgd, kunnen het moeilijk vinden om op Christus gefocust te blijven. De nieuwe website wil een hulpmiddel aanbieden om beter te kunnen focussen op de noodzakelijke zaken om een beter leven te verkrijgen.

De "zorgen van deze wereld" en het verlangen naar rijkdom kunnen ertoe leiden dat mensen niet langer op Christus gefocust zijn. In ogenblikken van crisis is er dan een eigenaardige reactie bij de mensen. Plotseling schieten ze wakker, of plotseling beginnen ze vragen te stellen over God en gebod. Sommigen hebben het lef dan te willen schieten op God, Hem beschuldigend van al wat er hier op aarde verkeerd gaat.




Het kan gerust niet zo leuk zijn om tot het besef te komen dat wij mensen zelf de fout zijn van wat er allemaal mis gaat. Regelmatig kunnen wij ook zien hoe verscheidene mensen niet willen inzien welk een rol zij in het gebeuren hebben te spelen. De afgelopen weken konden wij dat goed genoeg zien als wij de beelden op televisie zagen van al die mensen die gewoon de corona maatregelen negeerden.


Toppunt hierbij is dat er daarbij ook hypocriete mensen waren die om 8 uur 's avonds stonden te klappen voor de zorgverleners, maar onbeschaamd en onrespectvol naar al die hulpverleners, toch gingen flaneren op de straten en pleinen of zelfs in groepjes samen kwamen.

De zorgen van deze wereld kunnen een grote verscheidenheid aan concurrerende activiteiten omvatten. Veel van deze activiteiten zijn zelfs goed, maar als ze de verkeerde prioriteit krijgen, kan dat de aandacht voor Christus verminderen.

Bijvoorbeeld,
Het is belangrijk om te werken om in de gezinsbehoeften te voorzien, maar verteerd worden door werk kan de plaats innemen van God en Christus dienen.
Hetzelfde geldt voor het nastreven van rijkdom. Geld is nodig voor veel van de activiteiten van het leven, maar Paulus stelt duidelijk dat de liefde voor geld een wortel van allerlei kwaad is. Wanneer wij rondom ons zien kunnen we alleen maar vaststellen dat meerderen door dit verlangen van het geloof afgedwaald zijn.
  “ Want de geldzucht is de wortel van alle kwaad. Door deze hartstocht zijn sommigen al van het geloof afgedwaald en hebben zich afgemarteld met kwellingen zonder tal.” (1Ti 6:10 WV78)
We kunnen alleen maar vaststellen dat het is de liefde voor geld is die mensen op een ander spoor hebben gebracht, waarbij het zelfs zo ver gekomen is dat ze hun medemensen zijn gaan verwaarlozen. Door hun zucht naar verrijking is hun aandacht van Christus en zijn hemelse Vader afgeleid.

Om gefocust te blijven, kunnen we veel leren van het voorbeeld van de Schrift. Ten eerste leert Jezus dat wij achter hem aan moeten komen. Maar om Jezus te volgen zal ook niet altijd makkelijk zijn. Er wordt gewaarschuwd dat dit wel eens ernstige opofferingen kan eisen
 “ Maar tot allen sprak Hij: ‘Wie mijn volgeling wil zijn, moet Mij volgen door zichzelf te verloochenen en elke dag opnieuw zijn kruis op te nemen.” (Lu 9:23 WV78)
Durven wij wel dat kruis opnemen en Jezus volgen?
In welke mate zijn  we bereid om elke dag opnieuw onze persoonlijke verlangens te verloochenen en Gods weg volgen.

In de wereld zijn er heel wat dagen dat mensen alles rondom hen willen vergeten. Er zijn de wereldse en heidense feesten. Voor de kerkelijke feesten zijn de meeste mensen wel meepikkers, maar waar het werkelijk om gaat, interesseert hen geen moer.
Christenen krijgen geen vrije dag of vakantie om God te volgen. Het is een dagelijkse bezigheid.
In een cultuur van 'alleen zondag' christendom of waar geloof wordt gezien als slechts een van de vele gebieden van ons leven, is het de uitdaging om elke dag overgegeven aan Christus te leven.

Hiertoe moeten wij om het gemakkelijker te maken op de juiste zaken focussen.
We kunnen gefocust blijven door regelmatig van Gods Woord te leren. Psalm 119: 105 zegt:
 "Uw woord is een lamp voor mijn voeten en een licht op mijn pad." 
Als we zwak zijn, komt dat vaak doordat we niet voldoende tijd besteden aan Gods Woord. Dit kan tijd alleen met God vergen, tijd om te mediteren in gebed, of andere vormen, maar de algemene focus is dat tijd in Gods waarheid ons pad verlicht en ons gefocust houdt.

Met de nieuwe website trachten de Christadelphians u enkele artikelen aan te bieden die aantonen hoe u tot een juiste focus kan komen, God kan vinden en onder de genade van Christus kan komen.

Natuurlijk mogen we niet vergeten dat we kunnen gefocust blijven op Christus door tijd door te brengen met andere gelovigen.  Ook al konden wij nu met de lockdown elkaar niet in levende lijve ontmoeten, was er toch door al de hedendaagse softwareprogramma's de mogelijkheid om met elkaar in contact te komen. Via sociale media en e-mails konden wij nog contact hebben met anderen, en deze aanzetten tot liefde en goede werken. Via die sociale platfformen maar ook via de telefoon  kunnen wij anderen aanzetten om over geloof na te denken en om mee te helpen het geloof in God en Zijn zoon hun goede Nieuws van een komend Koninkrijk mee te helpen verkondigen.
Een ware christen mag niet nalaten elkaar te ontmoeten, al was het virtueel, om elkaar aan te moedigen.

 “24   Laten we elkaar in het oog houden om met elkaar te wedijveren in liefde en daden van liefde. 25   Wij moeten niet wegblijven van onze bijeenkomsten, zoals sommigen gewoon zijn te doen; laten we elkaar moed inspreken, en dit te meer naarmate gij de grote dag dichterbij ziet komen.” (Heb 10:24-25 WV78)



Thursday 10 December 2009

True riches

The coming days lots of people will chant “King of kings and Lord of lords.”. They praise themselves lucky, happy and rich in the gift we received. We are rich in that we have received the gracious gift of a Saviour whom ’s birth many people are going to remember these days.
Brother D. Pickering gave this exhortation:
TRUE RICHES

Who was or who is the richest man ever to live on this earth?
Abraham, King Solomon perhaps? Or nearer our life time, Rockafella, Carnegie or perhaps an oil Sheik or Russian billionaire? No, none of these, it is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ whom we are once again calling to remembrance in the emblems of eternal life.
 The Apostle Paul identifies Him as recorded in 2Corinthians 8: 9
 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”
 
Yes, our Lord was greater and richer in every respect than King Solomon and all the other rich men past &
present. As Yahweh’s only begotten son, our Lord Jesus had all the wealth of the earth available to Him but more importantly he had the True Riches from His God and Father, namely The Holy Spirit of God given to Him abundantly without measure.

A quick look at any English Dictionary at the words rich, or riches, we find the meanings given for these as wealthy, abounding in money and possessions, having plenty or opulent. Obviously these definitions refer to worldly wealth and possessions. We note that Christ Jesus, although He could have been rich in worldly possessions more than any man born on earth, He became poor instead, so that one day we could become spiritually rich through His sacrifice.

He had no estate or house to call His own, no flocks or herds of animals like Abraham once had, no enormous treasury of gold and precious things like King Solomon had, no wardrobe of clothing to choose from like the High Priests of Israel. All he had were the clothes he stood up in and even these were stripped from Him at His crucifixion.

Yet although He became poor in worldly possessions, He not only had Yahweh’s Spirit in abundance, God along with this, promised Him Eternal Life including an incomparable future both of riches and glory, plus a name and titles higher than any other living being.

The highest of the titles being, Word of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords: 

“His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.  He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Rev: 19:12-16

 Through Him we can share in His riches & also reign with Him on earth, so Paul writes:

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3:14.

What is this high calling? John supplies the answer

“They sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,  And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." Rev: 5: 10

So for a short while we shall consider a few examples from Scripture to encourage us to seek spiritual riches rather than worldly riches and how to properly use any worldly riches that we have been blessed with in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ to Yahweh’s glory.

While there is nothing intrinsically wrong with riches as such, we are counselled to focus our attention rather on God given riches of grace and righteousness.  Our lord states just that in His Sermon on the Mount:

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6: 33 (NIV)

Yes, God is aware of all our needs and provides for each of us according to His Grace and undeserved kindness. God uses riches to both bless and to test us.
The first example I have chosen from many in the Bible is Abraham. Abraham was a pillar of faith, and is held out to us as a tremendous example of strong unwavering faith, trust, and unreserved obedience to Almighty God. At the direction of Yahweh he left his home and was uprooted from his dwelling place to go to a land that was unknown to him.

From that time onwards he became a permanent tent dweller of no fixed abode. However Abraham was very wealthy and had many possessions including servants and huge herds of live-stock. Never the less he put obedience to God first in his life. This is an example of how to use what God provides us with, for His praise and for His Glory. This we must do with a trusting, loyal, grateful attitude in faithful, humble service.

Paul’s record regarding Abraham is as follows:

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV)
Next we consider Moses.  Moses was adopted into Pharaoh’s household in Egypt and as a prince he was in line for vast wealth, property, land and immense power. However just like our Lord Jesus who lived centuries later, he also chose to be poor, choosing to serve the Living God and creator of the universe, Yahweh. He, like Jesus did this at risk to his own life. It is of note that Egypt is used also in Scripture as a figure for the world and a symbol for its ways, riches and vices.

Paul refers to Moses like this:

“By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be ill treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.  He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Hebrews 11:24-26

We now turn to King Solomon who in his days was of course notorious for his vast possessions, riches and power, as well as his God given exceptional wisdom knowledge and understanding. Among his inspired sayings worthy of our attention are the following:

“A good name is more desirable than great riches, to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Rich and poor have this in common Yahweh is the maker of them all.” Proverbs 22:1-2 (NIV)

“Do not wear yourself out to get rich, have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” Proverbs 23:4-5 (NIV)

“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. “  Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV)

Solomon’s attitude to the love of wealth, power, and possessions is summed up in his famous words of wisdom, meaningless; all is vanity, a chasing after the wind.  His closing words in Ecclesiastes are:


“Now all this has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter, Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NIV)

The large book of Job is of course an account of a man who also had vast riches, power and possessions, lost everything including his children and his health but later because of his total faith and trust in Yahweh received back twice as much as he lost. His wise words are excellent guidance for us, and just like Solomon’s words perfectly summarise the correct attitude we should have regarding worldly riches:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” Job 1:21 (NIV)

There is wise counsel from Yahweh recorded in the book of Jeremiah:

“This is what the LORD says; Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this that he understands and knows me, that I am Yahweh who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:23-24

Before we move on to consider the Apostle Paul who enjoyed a measure of the world’s riches and goods, we will hear some wise and timely inspired advice from James another of God’s servants: 

“For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant, its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.”  James 1:11

“Listen, my dear brothers. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him.”   James 2:5

Now we will also hear Paul on this matter of riches:

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief’s.” 1Timothy  6:10


These words are frequently misquoted as “Money is a root of all evil” whereas Paul warns against THE LOVE OF MONEY, not money itself. So here are just two more quotations from Paul’s writings expressing his correct attitude towards riches:

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things, I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”  Philippians 3: 7-8

“Although I am the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”   Ephesians.3: 8

We cannot conclude this subject of true riches before we consider some words from the one we have once again gathered to remember and share the emblems of Eternal life with. The Lord Jesus taught about True Riches throughout His short ministry on earth. Listen to what He says when He was asked to arbitrate and divide up an inheritance between two brothers:

“Watch out!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, a mans life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Then Jesus told the people a parable:
“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there, I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and be merry” But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God.” Luke 12:16-21

In another parable the Lord Jesus spoke about a dishonest servant, who although being dishonest was shrewd when it came to dealing with material riches. Here is the lesson our Lord teaches:

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with True Riches.” Luke 16: 10-11

Later a rich young ruler approached Jesus and asked what he should do to inherit eternal life. Asked if he had kept Yahweh’s commandments, he replied that he had kept them since he was a boy. To which answer Jesus said, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything that you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the rich man heard this he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. So Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Indeed it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

The lesson is clear the love of worldly riches can exclude us from Yahweh’s Kingdom. True Riches are those spiritual riches stored in heaven where they cannot be corrupted or removed from God’s safe keeping. They are held in trust for us as part of our inheritance in Yahweh’s kingdom on earth. These are riches that cannot fade or be stolen. Jesus encouraged His disciples saying:

“Do not be afraid little flock, for your Father has been glad to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.”                                 Luke 12:32-34

We have been exhorted from scripture this morning to use this world’s material riches and possessions wisely, whether we are blessed with a little or with much.
We are to help the poor and afflicted ones in The Household of Faith, and help with the preaching work to further Yahweh’s purpose on earth.

We are to follow the example of Christ Jesus who shunned worldly wealth to become the richest man to walk the earth when He was raised to Life Eternal. It is Jesus who commands us that we are to, “Seek first Yahweh’s kingdom & His righteousness.”
 Yes, true riches are spiritual riches, founded on God’s love in and through Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul lists them for us:

 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

He also instructs us as to what our attitude should be, as we once again, and yet once less, partake of the emblems and call to remembrance our Saviour. Paul first reminds us about the greatness and humility of Christ Jesus:

“who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.”

And then Paul tells us what our reaction must be:

“that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:6-11

So it is time now to bow before the Lord Jesus and confess Him as both Lord and Christ to the glory of Yahweh. Further words from Paul conclude this morning’s preparation, before we share the bread and the wine together in Christ’s presence to remind us of our hope:

“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians4:19

(Bro D. Pickering)

Friday 2 January 2009

Kerkelijk pleidooi voor stapje terug in welvaart

"Er is een geldeconomie die ons, met de banken voorop, opgejaagd heeft om veel op de kaart te zetten van snelle winst. We zijn daarin te ver gegaan. We hebben het geld zó op een troon gezet, dat het geworden is tot een god, die ons beheerst. De crisis van nu vormt een geestelijke terreurmacht. Laten we ons proberen daaraan te ontworstelen. Het geld mag een dienende functie hebben.'' zeggen Henk van Hout en Klaas van der Kamp, respectievelijk voorzitter en secretaris van de Raad van Kerken.
,,Het jaar 2009 kan een jubeljaar zijn'', menen ze. ,,De kredietcrisis daagt ons uit om de woorden van Mozes opnieuw tegen het licht te houden.'' Ze verwijzen naar Leviticus 25:10. ,,Elk vijftigste jaar zal voor jullie een heilig jaar zijn, waarin kwijtschelding wordt afgekondigd aan alle inwoners van het land. Het is een wonderlijke gedachte. Dat je economie en maatschappij terugbrengt naar een oorspronkelijke situatie, waar iedereen gelijkwaardig deelt in de rijkdom en mogelijkheden.''

Wat er precies moet gebeuren om dit te realiseren, geven Van Hout en Van der Kamp niet aan.
Volgens de twee bestuurders hebben 'wij als westerlingen' de gedachte verdrongen ,,dat wij deel uitmaken van het rijke deel van de mensheid''. ,,We lezen snel verder in de Schriften als er schurende woorden langskomen van Paulus: 'De wortel van alle kwaad is geldzucht' (1 Timoteüs 6:10) of van Jezus: 'U kunt niet God dienen en de mammom, de god van het geld' (Matteüs 6:24). Die houding van ons is mede aanleiding voor de kredietcrisis.''

- - -

Paus Benedictus XVI heeft op Nieuwjaarsdag opgeroepen tot ingrijpende hervormingen in het wereldwijde financiële systeem. “Kortetermijnoplossingen zijn ontoereikend. Het volstaat niet de oude wijn in nieuwe zakken te gieten.” Duizenden gelovigen, die donderdag in de pletsende regen op het Sint-Pietersplein verzameld waren, hoorden hoe de paus de financiële crisis een test voor de toekomst van de wereldwijde globalisering noemde. In zijn boodschap voor de Wereldvrededag van 1 januari had de paus ook al opgeroepen tot meer solidariteit met de armen. Hij ontving op Nieuwjaarsdag ook vijf sterzangertjes uit Libanon. Bij deze gelegenheid riep hij op dit concrete gebaar van solidariteit voor kinderen uit de derde wereld te blijven voorzetten. Met de ontvangst werd ook de 50ste verjaardag gevierd van het sterzingen, al wordt de actie waarbij kinderen verkleed als Driekoningen geld inzamelen dit jaar in Libanon pas voor het eerst georganiseerd.

Sunday 14 December 2008

Good to make sure that you haven't lost the things money can't buy

"It's good to have money and the things money can buy,
but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and
make sure that you haven't lost
the things money can't buy."
- George Horace Lormier

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! …
Why spend money on what is not bread, and
your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David."
Isaiah 55:1-3




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Tuesday 2 December 2008

Living a perfect day

"You have not lived a perfect day,
even though you have earned your money,
unless you have done something for
someone who will never be able to repay you."
-R. Smeltzer

Therefore by Him let us continually
offer the sacrifice of praise to God,
that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
But do not forget to do good and to share,
for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Hebrews 13:15

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