From: Jan de Koning (jan@dekoning.ca)
Date: Mon Jun 30 2003 - 20:42:07 EDT
I believe, that the Lord warns severely against riches if they are not
coupled with concern for the poor. I pointed to Ezejiel 16:49
before. Concern for the poor is more important than riches.
Jan de K
At 09:29 AM 30/06/2003 -0700, Dr. Blake Nelson wrote:
>I'm sorry, but I beg to differ immensely with the
>sentiment apparently conveyed in the first paragraph.
>I don't have the time to do adequate justice to what I
>am trying to convey, but to say that living a life of
>poverty and defeat is not going to attract anyone to
>Jesus implies a lot that you don't perhaps intend.
>For example, it implies that the thing that attracts
>one to being christian is success in some popular
>sense (wealth, health, fame, etc.). Perhaps, what
>attracts someone to christianity is joy and love even
>in suffering, peace in turmoil, etc. Heck, it doesn't
>take faith in anything to be superficially happy with
>prosperity.
>
>Off the top of my head, a couple verses of Phillipians
>come to mind:
>
>But whatever things were gain to me, those things I
>have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
>8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in
>view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus
>my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all
>things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain
>Christ,
>9 and may be found in Him, not having a
>righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that
>which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness
>which comes from God on the basis of faith,
>10 that I may know Him and the power of His
>resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings,
>being conformed to His death;
>11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection
>from the dead.
>12 Not that I have already obtained it or have
>already become perfect, but I press on so that I may
>lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by
>Christ Jesus.
>
>---------
>Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
>
>5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The
>Lord is near.
>6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
>prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
>requests be made known to God.
>7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all
>comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds
>in Christ Jesus.
>
>-----
>
>Perhaps, these outworkings of the spirit and this kind
>of attitude in poverty and "defeat" are just what
>makes someone wonder what is different about someone
>who is christian?
>
>
>
>--- Debbie Mann <deborahjmann@insightbb.com> wrote:
> > That was NEVER my claim. I'll try again:
> >
> > Our lives attract, repel or escape notice.
> > When Christians have the kind of life that other
> > people want, such as Sondra
> > apparently has, wealth not withstanding, then
> > non-Christians investigate.
> > Living a life of poverty and defeat is not going to
> > attract anyone to Jesus.
> > Living a life of abundance will. Abundance is
> > relative and can mean a lot of
> > different things. Abundance of joy is probably the
> > greatest attraction.
>
>(SNIP)
>
>
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