SERVING THAT OTHER MASTER

We are told in Luke 16:13 (NIV) “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

 

This says two things very clearly; that it is not possible to serve both God and money and also that money is a master.

 

Though Christians do not put money first we still must handle money. It is not possible to exist in this world without money. I believe that it is the power of Satan.

 

The whole world serves money and many of the problems that we face are the result of those who have money using it to attempt to gain even more.

 

The rich control the government, because those who do so can manipulate the laws for their own gain. When I was a young man organized crime ran the numbers game and it was illegal. The government opposed it and tried to stop it. Now it is legal and the government protects it! So what has changed the numbers game, those who run it, or only the name of it? Do you think organized crime saw that if they were the government that they could do as they pleased and use law enforcement to enable and protect what they want to do?

 

Just as a side bar, when the lottery was being voted on in my state I thought it was the citizen’s right to gamble if that is what they wanted to do. I understand a bit better now.

I realized a drop in my business the very day the lottery began. I was basically in the entertainment business. At the end of the week my customers would have a few bucks to spend on something that they really did not need, so they spent it at my business and though they didn’t need what I sold they still got something for their money. As soon as the lottery started they threw their money away in an attempt to get rich and got nothing for it. I might add that those who worked with me also suffered a loss along with me.

 

The lottery will not pass the test of the second royal law “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. Everyone that plays the lottery must lose so that one can win. To “play” a game that demands others lose, so you can win, is not doing to others as you would have them do to you; unless you play the lottery only to lose!

 

One more thing, though I have many, do you think that a country full of people that can’t even run a bank without stealing from it could run a lottery honestly? This is not a post about the lottery. I only bring it up because it is all about money.

 

I find it funny that the lottery is called a game. It sure smells gamey to me!!!

 

The government gave our jobs to any foreign government that wants them and they are still making agreements that do so. They have managed to pass a law that will forgive $300 to $600 of the tax that they extract from us under the guise that it will save the economy. What a laugh! They will borrow the money from China to cover the programs that might be weakened because of lower income if they took the money from the budget and we will buy something made in China with the money. Whose economy is strengthened? Not only will we return the money to China by buying from them, but we will pay interest on it!

 

Those who make such deals do not have their brother’s interest in mind. They show no regard for the welfare of the common citizens of this country, or even the country itself.

 

Do you find it odd that a government, of the people, by the people, and for the people is doing more for the banks than for the people? I don’t because it is the wealth of those who run this government that is in the banks.

 

These are only a few things that demonstrate that the world serves the other master.

 

If you view money as neutral, neither good nor bad, then consider how God must view it.

First it is another master and God should be our only Master. It is said that if you want to be perfect sell what you have and then give the money away (Mat 19:21). Now I don’t know about you, but the truth is I don’t have faith enough to try to be perfect. Nor do I know anyone, other than Jesus, who has attempted to be perfect. I admit that everything that I control really belongs to God, but I have not sold it all and given it to the poor. I value the truth even when it reveals me to be less than I should be.

 

Jesus told the Pharisees that what is highly valued among men is detestable to God and it was money that he was speaking of. I might add that it was money that was the reward for betraying Jesus.

 

As we face higher fuel prices and the destruction of our economy Ecclesiastes 5:10 comes to mind (NIV) “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.” Those who are in the oil business are never satisfied. I might add that OPEC is an organization founded in order to fix prices. There is no free market for oil and the only organization that is big enough to oppose them is the government and because the government is controlled by the rich, they are the oil business.

 

There will be no democracy in heaven, because Jesus will be King and there will be no money, because there will be only one Master.

 

 

HERE IS THE NUMBER OF MAN

I have understood the number of man for quite some time, but I thought I should keep it to myself. Perhaps I still should, but there are a few things that have changed my mind.

 

First let me explain why I have kept it to myself. I have leaned much, so much that I began to doubt if it was really God that was teaching me. I began to think it might just be me and that I might not really have any true wisdom. (I heard that)

 

Thomas doubted, but my doubts make Thomas look like a real believer sometimes (That is not to say he isn’t) Anyway there is a verse in the Bible that says, “If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.”

 

It dawned on me, or perhaps God whispered in my mind that if I understood the number of man that I actually had insight. Then I believe that God gave me the clue that lead to understanding the number of man.

 

I kept it to myself because if I told others and they also doubted if they had true insight they would not have a test from God that would prove that they had true insight to themselves.

 

Then I thought about iron sharpening iron and I know that it is really not possible for me to teach others, so my fears are unfounded. I also have read and heard many other interpretations of the number of man and it might help to consider this view also.

 

Now second let me say this, ‘If you understand the number of man it will not really reveal anything else about God’s word. You will not be able to see any mark that would allow you to differentiate between those who are saved and those who are not.

 

Well, enough of this dribble. Here is the explanation of the number of man as I understand it, along with the clue that lead to this understanding. The clue is, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty” and here is the understanding.

 

The number of man is “six”: not six hundred and sixty six. It is said three times in order to emphasize it, just as holy is said three times when it is used to refer to God. The number of man is 6-6-6 meaning it was, is, and will always be 6.

 

You must understand other numbers to realize that the number of man is “six”. Well, really only the symbolic meanings of two other numbers.

 

The number of God is “one” (Mark 12:29), and the number of completion is seven. I do not have a verse that says seven is the number of completion, but a study of the number seven will affirm the concept. All of God’s work will be completed on His seventh day. It should be oblivious that God still works, so though we may be in the beginning of His seventh day, He still saves the lost, forms those in the womb, and makes the rain fall, so His work is not yet complete.

 

If a man, who is a six, receives God and becomes one with him, that man becomes complete, or becomes a seven: a new number! That person is no longer a six!

 

It is said in Rev 13:16-18 (NIV)  “He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.” So if one can calculate the number of the beast they have at least some wisdom and insight.

 

We think as men think with our brain, or forehead and we do as men do, with our hands. God sees the number of man on those who are not complete, but we can not see either number. God knows the thoughts of a man and why he does what he does, so God is the only one, other than the man himself that can see, or know his number.

 

The number of any man who has not received God is the same number as the beast and he will receive the same fate. If the number of man is the same number as the beast then isn’t man the beast?

 

I am not saying that there is a lack of creditability to the idea that we may have to receive a chip that will allow only those who have it to buy or sell. If that is true, the condition, or requirement that will have to be met in order to get the chip will be that the God of Abraham will have to be denied, or rejected.

 

Anyway the number of man, as I understand it, is only a riddle that when you have the answer does not add any greater understanding than what you already possessed.