“Do you have a pocket? No. Would you like for me to hold that for you until you’ve finished building?” I accompanied my daughters and grandkids to a local hardware store’s monthly kids building event. The toddlers were chomping at the bit to begin pounding away with their pint sized hammers while their moms unfolded the instructions and took stock of their supplies.
Timothy and Ezra looked on from the wagon as Thomas and Amelia each assembled a miniature foosball table. The included black and white soccer ball was no bigger than a gum ball and we were outside in a cordoned off section of the parking lot so I offered to pocket the balls rather than being sent to retrieve them from underneath parked cars or the fire truck we’d already toured.
Thomas and Amelia each earned their Junior Builder Badges after completing six projects. These events are offered free to families in the community. The project, I noticed, required patience and a sense of humor from everyone involved but it was a great value and provided families with a way to have fun while learning to work together. Just maybe the best things in life are actually still free.
Money doesn’t go as far as it once did. When I was a new driver, gas cost less than a dollar a gallon. Now it’s nearly three. I’ve seen prices as high as six dollars a gallon in fewer than six decades. We’ve limited our eating out because we can buy a weeks worth of groceries for what one meal typically costs. Jesus taught us to pray to our Father in heaven for provision not in large chunks but daily, and only after acknowledging God’s holiness and unchallenged authority to bring about His kingdom purposes on the earth as surely and as easily as His will is accomplished heaven.
“Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:11-13 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.6.13.NLT
“In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do.
You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others.
If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.”
Matthew 6:14-15 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/mat.6.14-15.MSG
The minor prophets Haggai and Zechariah simultaneously received the word of the Lord for the remnant in Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity during the second year of Darius the Mede. They are categorized as minor prophets not because they are less important messengers but because their messages from God are shorter than the majors. Both Haggai and Zechariah addressed those tasked with rebuilding Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem but Zechariah includes visions that are lengthy, apocalyptic and messianic, intended to bridge the gap between old and new testaments while Haggai’s message is incredibly brief and practical.
“You have planted much but harvest little.
You eat but are not satisfied.
You drink but are still thirsty.
You put on clothes but cannot keep warm.
Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!
You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor.
And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away.
Why?
Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses.”
Haggai 1:6, 9 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/hag.1.9.NLT
“You have planted much but harvested very little.
You fill your plates, but you are never full.
You drink but are still thirsty.
You put on clothes but not enough to keep warm.
You earn wages, but your money burns a hole in your pocket and quickly runs out.”
Haggai 1:6 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/hag.1.6.TPT
“Is that money burning a hole in your pocket?” I heard my dad asking my boys. I knew what he meant. Their sister saved her pennies, spending her own birthday money to buy gifts for her brothers and her cousins. If the boys had money, they would find something to spend it on and the sooner the better. In the spirit of Alexander Who Used To Be Rich Last Sunday (Judith Viorst, 2012) the boys would first need to get some more money to save.
“Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.
Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors.
He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/deu.8.3.NLT
“After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness!
The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven.
My Father did.
And now he offers you the true bread from heaven.
The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.
Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Yes, I am the bread of life!
Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died.
Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die.”
John 6:31-35, 48-50 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.6.35-50.NLT
Jesus offers us the same drink He offered the woman at the well in Samaria, the same bread He multiplied to feed thousands. His body broken and His blood spilled to make atonement once for all is eternally sufficient. (Hebrews 10:10)
“In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Colossians 2:3 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/col.2.3.NLT
“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever!
Amen.”
Philippians 4:19-20 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/php.4.19-20.NLT
So what is it that you want? Have you asked God for it? Even if your request remains unspoken, God hears. He knows your thoughts. He knows your heart’s deepest desires and what motivates you. Speaking aloud to Him allows me to hear my thoughts outside my own head. Meditating on His Word helps me to know His thoughts because in Him, I have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:16) So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God, asking even the impossible in Jesus’s name, believing without doubting for without Him we can do nothing.
“You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it.
You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them.
Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.
And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”
James 4:2-3 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.4.3.NLT
When Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil, He was there for forty days and forty nights. He fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But Jesus told him, “No!
The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ””
Matthew 4:1-4 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.4.4.NLT
““The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant.
They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God.
Don’t fall for that nonsense.
This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.
With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply.
Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
as above, so below.
Keep us alive.
Keep us forgiven
and forgiving others.
Keep us safe
from ourselves
and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything
you want!”
Matthew 6:7-13 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/mat.6.7-13.MSG
““Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip.
He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone.
He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities.
He then left on his trip.
The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.
The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more.
But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.
The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
The master was full of praise.
‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities.
Let’s celebrate together! ’
The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities.
Let’s celebrate together!’
Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate.
I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth.
Look, here is your money back.’
But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant!
If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank?
At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
(Or as Thomas’s book of parables reads, “You wasted your time and my money.”)
Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver.
To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance.
But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
Matthew 25:14-30 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.25.14-30.NLT
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.
Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
Matthew 6:19-21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.6.19-21.NLT
“Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear.
For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing.
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink.
Don’t worry about such things.
These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
So don’t be afraid, little flock.
For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.
Sell your possessions and give to those in need.
This will store up treasure for you in heaven!
And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes.
Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it.
Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
Luke 12:22-23, 25-26, 29-34 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.12.22-34.NLT
““For to everyone who has [and values his blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], more will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance;
but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away. [Matt 13:12; Luke 19:26]”
Matthew 25:29 AMP
https://bible.com/bible/1588/mat.25.29.AMP
“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.
So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
1 Timothy 6:6-10 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1ti.6.6-10.NLT
“Those who love money will never have enough.
How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!
The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it.
So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born.
We can’t take our riches with us.
And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it.
To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10-11, 15, 19 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/ecc.5.10-19.NLT
“Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have.
For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.””
Hebrews 13:5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.13.5.NLT
For You are the King who rules with power and glory forever.
Amen.
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