God helps those who help themselves

according to wikipedia, "The phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is a popular motto which emphasizes the importance of self-initiative". is this a Biblical principle? individual success can be a puzzling notion. how is that some people seem to naturally rise to the top and others seem to stay heavily weighted at the bottom -- like a boat anchor?

the "haves" verses the "have nots" have been pitted against each other since the beginning of time (Gen 4:3-8). this tension will never end and must be accepted as a fact of life. we will NEVER be all equal unless we are all, at some time, equally poor (Mark 14:7; Revelation 6:6).

how is it that one becomes successful? first, lets define success. like most words, there are more than one definition -- success has about 5 definitions. sadly, society conditioned us to use the first part of the second definition as the main defining factor: "the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like". for most of us, this version of the definition makes us believe that to be successful, we must have a great education, fantastic house, car, toys...money to burn. this mindset enables us to either not bother trying because the road looks too daunting or, on the completely opposite end of the spectrum, to only pursue riches (1 Timothy 6:10; Proverbs 28:20). 

lets focus on the first definition: "the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors." or worded differently "the accomplishment of an aim or purpose". a few real world examples -- my wife and i aim to raise our kids to follow the Lord with all of their heart, soul and mind (Proverbs 22:6; Matt 22:37) and as young adults, they commit their lives to doing the Lords will out of their love for what He has done for them. this would be a success. we aim to be debt free (Romans 13:8) and achieve it -- success. what would success look like in your own personal life? in your family? in your group of friends? you can be successful no matter what your education or income -- and likewise, you can be wealthy and educated, yet terribly unsuccessful.

we as Christians need to DO before we can GET. success does not just happen. this concept may bother some of my brothers and sisters in the Lord, but lets stick to the Biblical facts:

• fact: if a man does not work, he shall not eat -- 2 Thessalonians 3:10. self explanatory.
• fact: if you do not use the talents God gives you, He takes your talents away -- Matthew 25:14-30. what are you doing with the gifts He has given you? anything? what can you accomplish without a talent or skill? nothing! and that is what will mark your life if you dont use it because God will take it away and give it to someone who WILL use it.
• fact: God withholds blessings from those who do not put His kingdom FIRST -- Matthew 6:33. seek Kingdom first and THEN all added to you. write this verse down, take the word "then" and circle it, highlight it, underline it and circle it again -- its pretty important.
• fact: God withholds blessing from those who do not tithe -- Malachi 3:6-12. in Luke 6:38 -- the promise: you cant out give God; the curse: God will hold you to your own measurements. if you dont give God your (His, really) 10%, you will ALWAYS be broke. remember, it is all His anyway, all we have is just borrowed. we do not tithe because God needs our money to fund His kingdom (Psalm 50:10), but to actively demonstrate our trust that He is the provider for us (Philippians 4:19).
• fact: God punishes those who trust in sources other than God -- Jeremiah 2 (12-13 especially). did you grow impatient waiting on God and turn to the government to take care of your needs? are you relying in the Spring of Living Water or are you collecting the government's dirty, polluted, strings-attached water and putting it in broken containers? (hope your mixing that with a lot of Kool-Aid)
• fact: Jesus specifically says He is closer to those who do Gods will. (Mark 3:35)
• fact: you REAP what you SOW (Galatians 6:7)

lets turn this argument around 180 degrees: God DOES NOT help those who DO NOT help themselves. (i am not talking about the disabled, handicapped, widows, orphans and such -- we are commanded by Scripture to help those you cannot help themselves...this discussion is for the able bodied). is it true that God DOES NOT help those who DO NOT help themselves? if you have a family and are responsible to take care of them but instead you choose to stand outside and have "faith" that God will provide all your needs, ignore your bills and responsibilities, ignore the cries for help from your children, ignore the cries for help from your wife ...what will happen if we do nothing? NOTHING! THATS WHAT WILL HAPPEN! (Proverbs 6:6-8; 10:4; 12:24; 12:27; 13:4; 20:4; 21:25; 2 Thess 3:11-12; James 1:22; Proverbs 6:9-11; Matthew 25:25-27) the principles of faith only work in accordance to His will and purpose....and not doing anything violates about 15 thousand verses. namely no work, no eat (2 Thess. 3:10)-- worse than an unbeliever (I Timothy 5:8), etc -- no amount of "faith" can overcome Gods standards and commands. i should note that even if you do nothing, you still may, unfortunately, be able to "survive" through gov handouts -- which may seem like Gods "provision". but since we know that doing nothing is a violation of Scripture and we know that God will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7) nor shall God be tested (Luke 4:12), then where are those handouts really coming from? hmmm...  

but this discussion is about success and prosperity....not simply surviving, so lets move on.

so is it right to say God helps those who helps themselves? the Bible makes it clear that God reacts to our actions and thoughts. do you want true success in your life? want God to bless your efforts? FIRST STEP: act -- do something! SECOND STEP: God blesses and provides the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6-8). our actions and non-actions have consequences that affect our daily lives. we need to be lined up with Scripture FIRST AND FOREMOST...we cannot say that we will put Biblical affairs in order AFTER we get on our feet securely -- FOOL! we get on our feet securely BY putting our Biblical affairs in order first -- not the other way around! we dont get financial control BEFORE we tithe -- FOOL! you get financial control BY tithing first. cant afford to give God 10%?? you cant afford to NOT give God your 10%!

yes, God's love for us is never failing -- He loved us first (I John 4:19) and our salvation cannot be earned (Ephesians 2:8-9), but if it was Gods goal for salvation to be the climax or our Christian walk, than we would be escorted to heaven the moment we get saved. but salvation is not the end...it is the beginning!

are you successful?

spiritual maturity

the moral difference between a born again Christian and a morally upright atheist is nothing. NOTHING. we have all sinned and fallen short of the kingdom of God (Romans 3:23). all of our works are like dirty rags before the Lord (Isaiah 64:6). what is man that You are mindful of him (Psalm 8:4)? the bar is set so high that we are morally not even close. the born again Christian deserves hell no less than the moral atheist. even cults do a better job of "earning" their salvation than some Christians. being an upright moral person is only half the battle!

knowledge of the Bible is great, but it has has limited growth potential. the Bible is clear that prayer should be the focus of our relationship with the Lord..."pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). it never says to read without ceasing (although reading is VERY important -- 2 Timothy 3:16), or memorize every verse of the Bible (although memorizing is VERY important -- Psalm 119:11), or do good works without ceasing (although doing good works is VERY important -- James 2:18). far more people can boast about memorized Scripture or memorized Jewish festival prayers than they can about their prayer time. whether it is popcorn prayers throughout the day or 30 min one on one, we need to draw close to God -- for as James 4:8 states "Come near to God and he will come near to you"

we do not want to be said of us what the writer of Hebrews said as he chastised against spiritual immaturity:

Heb 5:12-14 -- For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

how do we become "skilled in the word of righteousness"? how do we "discern both good and evil"? we need to be praying and asking the Spirit to open our hearts and explain to us the Scriptures as we read them (Matthew 11:15; Rev 3:22). learning the Bible is much more than just knowledge. the Bible is the living, breathing Word of God. the Spirit speaks to us through the Scripture. if the apostles needed Jesus to open their eyes (Luke 24:27,32), how much more for us as well?

there are many things that make up a spiritually mature Christian, but for sure, one of them is a complete giving of oneself to God -- 100% -- and committing to do EVERYTHING His way. when it comes to the decisions you have to make and the problems you face, who are you trusting? your self? your spouse? your friends? your money? the government? spiritually mature Christians go to God with all problems, all desires, all dreams and all plans. they actively seek Him and hand it all over to God. if we want all of our dilemmas to be resolved God's way, then we need to not only include God in our dilemmas, we need to GIVE Him all our dilemmas. pretent God is the boss of a company and you are just a lowly secretary -- visualize putting your dilemma in a plain manila file folder and handing it to God for Him to take control over it. this should cover everything -- how we make our money, how we spend our money, family issues, job issues, etc., etc. 

spiritually immature Christians, by contrast, go through life on their own power. they put themselves through a whole host of self inflicted trials and tribulations. holding back from God only hurts us. they miss out on all sorts of blessings, divine protections, divine provisions communion with God and peace in our lives. they go through life in survival mode, constantly looking for answers and help from sources other than the Trinity -- like friends, family, more money or more government handouts. simply trodding through life is NOT Gods plan for you. dont make God out to be a distant relative who cares for you from far away. another mark of a spiritually mature Christian is someone who uses their talants to build Gods kingdom. for some people when they got saved, they gave it all to God. but as the years went by, they start taking peisces back -- a little here, a little there. after a while, it is sometimes hard to tell what parts, if any, are still completey devoted to Him.  

what have you done today, this week, this month....even this year to build Gods kingdom using the gifts He has given you? or are you so consumed by building your own little kingdom here on earth that you really just dont have the time and energy for His?

to the stagnant, luke warm Christian, God says in Revelation 3:16 -- "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

as always, the choice is yours.

morning devotions

what are devotions and why do we do them?

1) we need Gods guidance and direction each and every day. contrary to popular belief, our goal for the day is not just to survive it but instead to thrive in it.

a) matt 6 33: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. want peace in the marriage? seek the kingdom of God. want financial security? seek first the kingdom of God. want children that honor God? seek first the kingdom of God.

b) psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.

2) we need Gods protection over us every day. each day the enemy shoots thousand's of arrows at us. remember -- we have an active enemy who is deliberately trying to hurt us EVERY DAY. one of the most effective tools of the devil is ruining the character of a professing Christian -- let alone the many other problems the devil causes for us.

a) eph 6 13-18 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,

3) God is not some distant character that created us, gave us a Bible and left us alone. He is here and with us. we as Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit and Jesus lives in our hearts. but at the same time, we need to build the relationship with God. this is never ending, we cannot be too close to God. i believe our relationship with God is the true foundation of our Christian walk, as i already mentioned. so much of the Bible talks about love and its hard to love someone you dont know (everything we do for God should be motivated out of love I Cor 13). its hard to trust someone you dont know. its hard to live for someone you dont know. countless Scriptures tell us of the times Jesus spend talking to His Father, Moses spending time with God, etc.

4) there is always room for us to learn more of the Bible. throughout the day, we are going to be tempted. how will we know right from wrong if we do not know what IS right and what IS wrong? unfortunately, too much of this world falls in a gray area, yet we are to know what we believe and live by it. and the more we know the Bible, the more we can withstand the temptations and guide others with our actions and words. we cant teach others stuff that we ourselves dont know

a) john 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

how can He teach if we do not read and how can He bring to remembrance those things which we have not learned? like i said, its never ending.

for several reasons, i think the morning -- before anyone else is up -- is the best time for devotions. if done correctly, it can be a peaceful time to think about and pray about the day ahead with a clear mind and little outside distraction. we can ask guidance for the day ahead, asking God for direction and help to accomplish His will in our lives for the day. you cant ask for guidance for the day AFTER the day has ended; and there's no sense putting on the armor of God after you've already been hit all day long -- when you go out to battle, you put the armor on BEFORE you fight, not after you get shot.

so HOW do you do devotions? to get started, get up before anyone else in your house. (be awake and alert -- get a good night sleep, drink some coffee!) then, open the Bible and read it for 10 minutes. start right at the beginning in Genesis 1. after that, kneel down next to your couch or a chair and pray for 10 minutes. talk to Him about your feelings, your fears, ask for guidance and direction, ask for forgiveness, ask that He will show the things in your life that He disapproves of, ask for Him to help your friends that you know are hurting; be specific. for the last minute, be silent...ask Him to speak to you. do this routine for weeks to get into a habit. let the Spirit lead you. the 10 minutes is just somewhere to start -- maybe He wants you to read / pray for 20 minutes or maybe an hour. trust that He will guide you and He will.