Do I own my possessions or do my possessions own me? Jesus addresses living in JOY. Matthew 19 — Vol 3, Ch 3

It is cold where I live!
Things are happening here from roof problems, to trees falling on our fence, to car needing to be replaced to...to...to.
And this is what I know.

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God gives. He gives and He takes away. My husband and I are simply stewards of the possessions He has given.

Possessions are to be taken care of well. They don't belong to us, they belong to God. He has blessed us with them.

By putting my possessions in proper perspective I am freeing myself.
I am free from:

• hoarding
• jealousy
• comparison
• waste

By putting my 'stuff' in proper perspective I am freed from many other traps that 'stuff' often grabs us around the neck and drowns us in. Instead of being drown by stuff, I can be free from that and enter into Joy.

Look at the following story from Matthew 19.

16. Someone came to Jesus with this question: "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"
17. "Why ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. But to answer your question — if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments."
18. "Which ones?" the man asked.
And Jesus replied: "'You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely.
19. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
20. "I've obeyed all these commandments," the young man replied. "What else must I do?"
21. Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

22. But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Matthew 19:16-22 NLT

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So, this young man had many possessions.
This young man was tied to his possessions so tightly he was willing to reject Jesus to hold on to them.

I've often wondered if this young man had released his grip on his stuff and said, “Okay, LORD.” What would have happened.

Jesus might have said, "Peace be with you. Those possessions might be come in handy for you to use in ministry for the future. Keep them. Be a good steward of them.” Our LORD does not warn us that stuff is evil. He says the love of stuff is a problem. Not having, but refusing to release. Not owning but refusing to use wisely.

Some of my closest friends are blessed with wealth. They are generous with their homes, with their property, and even with their money. And God continues to bless them.

These people are not holding onto their possessions. Instead, they have been wise with their money. They are thankful for money/possessions/stuff, good stewards of all. They recognize all comes from the hand of God. By keeping their hands open and not holding tightly to things of this world, they bless others.

Remember this verse?
1 Timothy 6:10 NASB says:

​"For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

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The LOVE of these things is the problem.
Our heart is always what Jesus looks at.

Right now many books and TV series deal with hoarding, and releasing stuff. It’s a popular theme. And one for a reason.

There is a fundamental truth that stuff will overwhelm us. By releasing unnecessary stuff and removing it from our homes and surroundings we will find a lighter heart and easier life. This is a fundamental human reality.

But the spiritual aspects are there as well.

Jesus wants us to be willing to release all our stuff and find our fulfillment and abundance in Him. He is wonderfully gracious and generous. He promises He will never leave us nor forsake us. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
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If and when He makes a request for us to leave any or all of the things that we own, and we do it, He will bless us.

God called me to get rid of my possessions in 2004. For ten years I was a missionary on the foriegn mission field. To move there i had to sell a two-story house, car, furniture. I even said goodbye to my adult children - whom I absolutely adore.

But — God had called and I followed. I thought I would be there until I died.

Instead, after ten years, He brought me home to the USA. He brought a man into my life, and allowed me to marry.

My husband loves me as Christ loves the church. Today we have some stuff. We are trying to be good stewards of our stuff.

But none of our stuff is as important to either of us as sharing Jesus Christ's love to the world.

None of our stuff is as important as sharing our lives with others in Jesus' strength and wisdom.

We are thankful for what we have, but we want to be wise not to allow it to own us. We are constantly finding ways to improve our home. Streamlining our home from stuff is a constant job. I am thankful that my years as a single mom and missionary have grounded me in keeping my hands open instead of wrapped tightly around the things of this world.

It hasn't been easy. It is not something that is supposed to be easy. It has been worth the effort. Because when I let these things go and hold Him more tightly, Jesus shines.

And this is what Jesus promised :
"29. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.
30. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then."
Matthew 19:29,30

Because He is the I AM,
i am
Robyn Rochelle Cox

Biff and I are thankful you are here.

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