Buy from me real Gold...

I am sure most now days are no stranger to tough times economically. Things seem to be getting tighter and unfortunately, there is not alot of hope coming out of the news media these days. ( Good thing we don't have our hope there! )

I was reminded last night that we should not look at these times as tough, but rather as great times of opportunity. As it was described " let the church finally be the church"...

This morning, I met with a long time brother and we talk about the things that concern eachother as we do each week. It's a great time of instruction, confession, and need sharing that always ends with us praying for eachother and our families.

One of the concerns I shared with this brother was a problem I am having with a recent reduction in earnings at my current place of employment and some bitterness as a result.
My brother prayed a great prayer for me, that I would be able to show my co-workers the gospel in how I did my job during this time to help me overcome my bitterness.

Well, just this morning I had a big sale ready to close, along with the idea that this was God's blessing for me to get this deal and start earning more. Unfortunately, it did not turn out that way, in fact, we had to give this lead to another salesman in what I considered at the time a technicality. Needless to say, my first reaction was dissappointment with a quick swerve toward self pity and a little anger. Afterall, I did all the work and deserved the sale..right???

I am thankful for my brother's prayer...it caused me to reflect before I reacted. After considering the situation for a few moments I started to see it much differently. I decided that I was going to act like Jesus said to act..."Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" After being disappointed, I wanted to throw the lead away with the attitude..."well if I can't have the sale let them figure it out..." But instead I made the choice to do the best I could to fully cooperate and give the other guy the best opportunity to make the sale...and let him be blessed even though he did not deserve it...

I hope you all see where I am going with this and how my brother's prayer was answered with this great opportunity. And it was not long after I made the decision to do the right thing that I remembered the scripture from Revelation exhorting us to "Buy from me real gold"... I can't say this for sure because I am not a biblical scholar, but I believe what Jesus meant by this is that when we do what He says to do, we gain experiences and understanding and become a little more conformed into His image...this is far greater than the temporary gain or temporary gold I was working for...this is good to keep in mind especially in tough economic times...

I pray we all focus and pray for one another to make the most of all the opportunities God gives us each day to buy from Him real Gold. Let the church be the church and God's people be His people...


Vince