Crown Ministry

I thank the Lord throughout the day, everyday, for the many and continuous blessings He sends my way. I have noticed as I reread thru my blogs that I use I alot. We walk this path together. We is the indwelling Holy Spirit and myself. For you see with out the Lord sending the Holy Spirit to me after I accepted Him as Lord and Savior, I would not be lead to go on mission trips or tackle in depth bible studies. Not in my flesh. Though there are many examples in scripture, I think Paul says it best. "Those things I would do, I do not. Those things I would not do, I do". A constant battle within and ole satan without. satan will come at you from all sides if he thinks you are attempting to do most anything for the Lord and His kingdom. satan does not want you to succeed. The Lord does. Could be why a crown is waiting for those that persevere. I had attempted to take Crown Financial Ministry prior to the MS trip, but Jan was not ready, and by myself, well, I just did not finish. The sin of course was the squandering of the Lords blessing. Heaped upon that was coveting. That lead to excessive debt. Stupid. As the Lord continued to raise his hand of protection from around me, due to my disobedience, He also softly spoke of a way back to Him. A biblical way. After much prayer and conversation Jan & I took the class and completed it. Now ours was a 12 week study, they have shortened it to 10. If you think a couple of hours once a week and an hour each day is too much then don't take the class. From my experience you would be wrong. I was. The class is not the 'hard' part. The hard part is choosing to live the lesson. I have a dear brother and sister in Christ who not only took the class but have also taught it on several occasions. They have become discouraged. If I understand their position, its because they did not see the "effects" of the class they were expecting. I believe one of the statements were along the lines of 'everyone who takes the class goes out and buys a new car'. Interesting. Jan & I had taken a brand new car to MS. Christ does not punish us each and every time we sin. He gently calls us to move towards Him. We deserve that ungiven punishment, He showers mercy and grace. Crown in my humble opinion is directed towards those with some wealth. Those that have not ruined their credit. Towards those that a relatively simple readjustment of the percentage of income page and all will be fine. That was not me. The easiest way would have been to file bankruptcy and start fresh. That was not the leading I was getting from my prayers. See, sometimes the sweetest reward is the one you have to work very hard for. Not by your own, and not on your own. The choosing to make Christ Lord. The actual, painful, this is where I am and over there is where the Lord would have me be. Mine was a long uphill rocky trek. I'm still on it. Because it is not, NOT, I took the course, completed it, succeeded! whats next. Biblical financial "Crown Ministry" is lifelong. You will not know of your level of success this side of glory. There are some bench marks for sure. But they do not easily apply to all. Lord willing Jan & I will be debt free in about 2 more years. I personally feel the gas crisis is satan's doing, but that's me. Free of debt is one of the benchmark goals. As in "neither a debtor nor lender be". Now understand this Tithing is not the goal. God does not need our money! The primary goal is a change of heart. Think of Christs example of the widow and the 2 mites. Does most of the resources God provides you go towards building and strengthening his Kingdom? Or, towards self, or the world or worse towards satan's. Take the class, do the work, read the scriptures, let the Holy Spirit guide you. See one needs food and water to sustain life, one does not need $8. per lb steak or $5. cup coffee. One may need transportation and that reliable. One does not need a Lexus or Jaguar, or if he is to be believed a young man from work who boasts of his $1ooK mustang with NOS injection system. You are the basic block of God's system, know this. That is why Jesus came to save you. From there its your family, then the church, then missionaries and outward from there. The easy ones are the $100. per hour income and above. It gets really tough at minimum wage. Below that sometimes its just by Gods good grace, the ability to survive. One of the benchmarks towards the end of your life is the inheritance you can leave for the following generations. At this point I will be lucky to get into potters field, but, I see light at the end of the tunnel where I could see none before. That thru Christ. Take the course. You will absolutely get something entirely different than I did. How do I know? Christ will take those things you need to work on and bring them to the forefront. He did for me. Thank you Lord.

Next post: Utah.