Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Meaning of Money

An ounce of gold is going for $1,600 in today's market. Solomon's yearly income was 666 talents of gold. (A talent = 3,000 shekels, a shekel = 10.52 grams, 28.35 grams = 1 oz.) Thus the formula for Solomon's yearly income is 1,600/28.35x10.52x3,000x666. A close estimate of his annual income is $1,186,312,500. So in Ecclesiastes 2:10 when he says, "And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure..." the truth is that he had the resources to try EVERYTHING. His conclusion, "...behold all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." (Eccl. 2:11) The point of having an automobile is not filling it with gas just like the point of having money is not stuffing it into a savings account.  The point is using fuel to get you to meaningful things like your job and family. Money is not an end in and of itself just like gasoline is not the point of travel. Money is just the fuel that we use in life to get ourselves to meaningful things like advancing the Kingdom of God. The only question that really matters about gasoline is, "Are we using it efficiently and effectively?" In other words, are we using it in the most efficient way to go the the places where we will be the most effective? The same question is the only one that matters about money.
Posted by steveeasterwood@gmail.com at 11:34 AM | 0 comments

Monday, October 03, 2011

A BIG MARRIAGE MISTAKE

According to the Reuters news agency, lawmakers in Mexico City have proposed a temporary marriage contract that will allow couples to opt out after a minimum of two years. The big problem they don't seem to understand is that marriage is NOT a contract. It's a covenant. Numerous studies have shown that successful marriages that go long term are not contracts based on compatibility but covenants based on commitment. That's why couples who live together have a higher divorce rate than couples that don't - because they're missing the one vital ingredient which is commitment. Compatibility changes as the years go by. What people like at 55 is much different from what they like at 25. People who are banking on a long term marriage based on compatibility are building on a shifting foundation. Those who build on covenant have a solid foundation because they are saying, "I'm staying with you no matter what. My commitment to our relationship is to work so that we can build a life together." People in covenant relationships do not leave compatibility to chance - they work for it. They change together through the years so they don't drift apart. The most important thing is that God is the third party to a marriage covenant. With His help and a better understanding of the marriage covenant there's no reason why couples can't stay together for a lifetime.
Posted by steveeasterwood@gmail.com at 11:52 AM | 1 comments

Monday, September 19, 2011

GOD'S THRONE ROOM

Revelation 8 contains some interesting information about God's throne room. In many ways it looks like the Old Testament Holy of Holies. There were two altars in the Tabernacle and Temple. The first was the Bronze Altar where sacrifice for sin was made. This altar is missing from heaven because Jesus suffered and died once, for all our sins so that no further sacrifice is necessary. The second altar, which IS found in heaven, is the Golden Altar which sat in the Holy Place, separated by a curtain from the Holy of Holies where the presence of God dwelt. Revelation 8:3 says that this altar in heaven stands "before the throne." If your Bible has a picture of the Temple, you can see that this means that God's throne is the Mercy Seat of the Holy of Holies! Praise God, that His Kingdom is one built on mercy and not justice. Because Jesus died and rose again God's throne and His mercy seat are one in the same! The veil of Temple, which symbolized the broken body of Christ, was ripped in two (Matthew 27:51) so that nothing can separate us from the mercy of God.
Posted by steveeasterwood@gmail.com at 11:13 AM | 0 comments

Thursday, July 14, 2011

WINNING THE DNA LOTTERY


 It seems to be the American Way is to admire those who have won the DNA lottery. A Michael Jordon comes along once in a decade, if not a generation. Through no choice of his own, he won the DNA lottery, making him unusually tall and able to leap tall buildings. The same is true for every professional athlete. Most of us can train all our lives and never run a 4.2 40 yard dash. Beauty is the same. Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Heidi Klum, Jennifer Aniston, and Brad Pitt all won the DNA lottery. Most of us, on our best day, don't look as good as they do on their worst day. Winning the DNA lottery can bring you fame and money but it can't bring you real life. In fact, Jesus LOST the DNA lottery! The Bible says in Isaiah 53:2–3 (ESV) 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Jesus is the most magnetic person in human history and it has nothing to do with giftedness, intelligence, looks, or strength. His popularity has been rooted in his ability, through God's strength, to live a life of total righteousness, humility, and servanthood. Hollywood, the NBA, and the NFL are only available to a few of us. The good news is that everyone can have the Jesus life. 



Posted by steveeasterwood@gmail.com at 11:03 AM | 4 comments