Its about Faith not Deeds

Monday, May 11th, 2026

4:24 am

Good morning everyone! I want to say a Happy Belated Mother's day to all the mothers. I hope you had a very good day yesterday. I know I haven't been on here for a couple of days. We went camping Friday, and there was no internet, so I wasn't able to get on here. We got back home yesterday, but I just enjoyed the rest of my day. It was a very nice relaxing weekend. We sat by the river and fished most of the weekend. It was a very much needed get away. Loved it. So a very good mother's day. But time to get started back to work.

This morning I am in Matthew 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-31, and Luke 18:18-30. As Jesus was heading towards Jerusalem, a young man came running up to Him, and knelt down at His feet, and asked Him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? (Mark 10:17)" Luke tells us this man was a religious leader. Jesus asked Him why he called Him good because there was only one who was truly good and that is God. But to answer his question, Jesus told him, he must follow the commandments. The man told Jesus that he had kept all the commandments. Jesus told him there was one more thing he hasn't done. He told him to go sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor. The man left sad because he had many possessions. Then Jesus turned to His disciples and told them it was very hard for a rich person to get into heaven, that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. The disciples were astonished and asked Jesus who then could even go to heaven? Jesus told them, "Humanly speaking it is impossible. But with God everything is possible. (Matthew 19:26)." Peter spoke up and said, "We've given up everything to follow you. What will we get? (Matthew 19:27)" Jesus assured them that everyone of them that had given up something or someone to follow Him, would receive much more in return and will inherit eternal life. And He tells them that many who are the greatest now, will be the least important. And those who are the least now will be the greatest then.

By telling the young man that he must sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor, He was exposing the young man's weakness, his money. And the disciples were astonished because many people, in that day, believed that money was a sign of God's favor. People today still think that way. But that is not always the case. Yes God can and does bless us financially. But how much we have or don't have is not a sign of God's favor. Many people gain their wealth and power in evil, sinful ways. And like the young man, we tend to make our wealth an idol in our life. Unfortunately, the man claimed to have obeyed all the commandments, but truthfully he disobeyed the main one, to love God above all else. By not wanting to give up his possessions, he had placed the love of money before God. Money is definitely a blessing and we definitely need it in this life, but we must be careful not to put it before God. Yes, He does bless us financially, but He doesn't want us to use our money selfishly, He wants us to steward it well. Using it to help others, not just ourselves. I believe that is the main reason why He wants us to tithe our money. So we don't hold it so tightly that we don't use it to help anyone. Just like with anything else in this world, it can be gone in a flash, so we must be careful to not put all our hope and trust in it. Instead, our hope and trust must be in the Lord, the one that takes care of us and everything we need. Tithing helps us give back to God what He has blessed us with. Don't put all your faith in wealth, and don't look to other wealthy people as your guide, they will mislead you. Instead, put all your faith in God, and look to Him for guidance in how to serve Him even in your finances. He will guide you on the right path if you ask Him to help you.

Jesus didn't give the man another commandment to keep or rule to follow, but pointed out what the man had truly put his trust in. Our salvation in not in our good deeds, its in our faith. Our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. There is nothing in this world more important than that. Once we put our faith in Jesus Christ at the center of our lives, we will start living our lives for God. Serving Him where we are. And we will be blessed in the end.