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BLESSED ARE THE
POOR
CHRISTIANITY OASIS
HAS PROVIDED YOU WITH THIS BLESSED ARE THE POOR STUDY. BLESSED ARE THE POOR
IS A STATEMENT MADE BY
JESUS IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. MANY HAVE HEARD THE PHRASE BLESSED
ARE THE POOR BUT DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE POOR ARE BLESSED. ESPECIALLY IF YOU
ARE POOR CUZ YOU SURE DO NOT FEEL BLESSED BEING POOR. LET US SEEK AND FIND THE TRUTH OF
BLESSED ARE THE POOR TOGETHER, SHALL WE?
BLESSED ARE THE POOR ???
WHAT A PECULIAR CONCEPT HUH?
Let’s
be honest …
It doesn’t feel very blessed … It feels more like a
curse!
I mean, you look around and you see people with
nicer clothes than you, a nicer house, new cars, well paying jobs,
they take vacations, they eat better food than you can afford … They
even have savings accounts! Now you tell me, which one sounds blessed,
you or them?
I’ll be asking you a whole lot of questions as
you read through this study, and I encourage you think carefully as
you answer them, and think about what answers you want Jesus to hear
from your heart.
I guess the next question to be asked is do we seek
to be blessed … Or impressed?
Do we feel blessed because we’re poor, or are we so
impressed by worldly riches that we’ve failed to recognize that being
blessed because we’re poor is more than just pretty words, but
richness and happiness beyond anything we could ever have in this
world?
The question really is, do we want to impress
ourselves, others, or God?
If God is the answer, then we have to change our
attitude from being disgruntled about being poor to being elated about
it. It’s just that we’ve been so convinced by the world that we
have to “keep up with the Joneses” that we forgot to keep up with what
Jesus taught us.
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JOHN 12:26
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall
also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.
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As Christians, our goal is to be as much like Jesus
as we can be ... To follow in His footsteps. We walk around asking
others, What Would Jesus Do, but why have we never considered, How did
Jesus feel about being poor? He certainly could have chosen to live a
more comfortable life, but what DID He do? So the next question
is, Was Jesus rich? Was Jesus what we call middle class? Was Jesus
even above poverty level? No, none of these. Jesus was poor. Jesus was
homeless in fact.
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MATTHEW 8:20
And Jesus saith unto him,
The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have
nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.
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II
CORINTHIANS 8:9
For ye know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor,
that ye through His poverty might be rich.
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Hold on just a minute, don’t get the wrong idea now.
That doesn’t mean that if we want to be good Christians we should give
up our homes and our jobs like the Apostles did, but rather to be
thankful for what the Lord provides. It was necessary for the Apostles
to leave their homes and jobs and families, because their role as
Apostles was quite different than our role as today’s disciples.
If you knew that being poor had some really
phenomenal rewards, would it be easier to accept? Could you ever grow
to like it … even choose it for your life? Could the
extraordinary rewards of being poor turn the heaviness that it causes
in your heart, into joy? Could you actually believe that it is in fact
the blessing that Jesus promised, and not a curse? Could you ever
imagine thanking God for the opportunity to be poor?
Maybe you hesitated in your answers to these
questions, or maybe you just answered them all with an emphatic, NO!
Keep reading and soon, instead of singing “Poor Poor Pitiful Me”
you’ll be singing “I Was Poor, When Poor Wasn’t Cool.”
Let’s go ahead and take a look at some of the
rewards of being poor.
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MATTHEW
6:19-21
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
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Can you think of anything on earth that is a better
reward? Is it worth it to go without the material things of this
world, to gain the kingdom of God? Here’s a little secret. The things
we have on earth, we can’t take with us when we leave anyway! That’s
one reason why Jesus said, Lay up your treasures in heaven.
Next, let’s look at some more things that Jesus said
in regards to the rewards of being poor.
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MATTHEW
19:16-30
And, behold, one came and said unto Him, Good
Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And
He said unto him,
Why callest thou me good? there is none good but
one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the
commandments.
He saith unto Him, Which? Jesus said,
Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit
adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself.
The young man saith unto Him, All these things have I kept from my
youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him,
If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast,
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come
and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for
he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto His disciples,
Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly
enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich
man to enter into the kingdom of God.
When His disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who
then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them,
With men this is impossible; but with God all things
are possible.
Then answered Peter and said unto Him, Behold, we have forsaken all,
and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto
them,
Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed
me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the Throne of
His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel.
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or
father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake,
shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
But many that are first
shall be last; and the last shall be first.
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LUKE 12:15-31
And He said unto them,
Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's
life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
And He spake a parable unto them, saying,
The ground of a certain rich man brought forth
plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do,
because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build
greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I
will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many
years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast
provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not
rich toward God.
And He said unto His disciples,
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your
life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have
storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better
than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his
stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is
least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they
grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to
morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will He clothe you, O ye
of little faith?
And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be
ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world
seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be
added unto you.
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MATTHEW
16:24-27
Then said Jesus unto his disciples,
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find
it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and
lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His
angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.
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Next is a Proverb of Solomon, which Jesus also spoke
of similarly in the scripture following it, from the Gospel according
to Luke.
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PROVERBS
25:6-7
Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king,
and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be
said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower
in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
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LUKE 14:8-11
When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit
not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be
bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee,
Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest
room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room;
that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go
up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that
sit at meat with thee.
For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted.
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Have you ever gotten anything (materially
speaking) that you thought you just couldn’t live without, that over
time didn’t lose it’s importance to you? Now ask yourself, Does the
novelty ever wear off of our salvation?
POOR AND PRIDEFUL?
Inside our hearts we despise being poor, yet our
pride is sometimes even stronger than the disdain we have for our
poverty. At times we let our pride get the best of us and we refuse to
accept charity. Is being poor something to be ashamed of? Did you know
that the person who gives to you, gets a blessing too?
Doesn’t it make sense then, that God would love a
cheerful receiver?
Let’s look a little deeper into this. I’d like to
show you some TRUTH from the Bible about people who give to the poor.
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PROVERBS 22:9
He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for
he giveth of his bread to the poor.
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PROVERBS
28:27
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he
that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
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PSALMS 41:1-3
Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD
will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him, and
keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt
not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The LORD will strengthen
him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his
sickness.
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If Jesus lives in us, and we refuse charity, are we
refusing other peoples’ gifts to Jesus? What about those people who
actually see Jesus in us, and when they come bearing gifts, we
reject them? When someone gives us charity, they’re not only giving to
us, they are giving to Jesus, too.
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PROVERBS
19:17
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the
LORD; and that which he hath given will He pay him again.
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MATTHEW
25:35-46
When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all
the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His
glory: And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth His sheep from
the goats: And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats
on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave
me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye
took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I
was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer
Him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or
thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took
thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in
prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto
them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one
of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then
shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye
gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and
ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then
shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an
hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison,
and did not minister unto thee? Then shall He answer them, saying,
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least
of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into
everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
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What if you feel like someone is offering you
charity because they feel guilty for their wealth? What if you believe
they’re giving for prideful reasons, to gain glory from others? That’s
not for us to judge.
I have to ask, what if they are repenting for
something they’re sorry for? What we assume of people, doesn’t
necessarily reflect what’s in their heart. You can be a blessing to
them.
Now you may argue that the word “charity” means
love, but maybe it’s the only way they know how to show God their
love. Maybe they are prideful, but again, we don’t know what’s
in their heart, or at what moment they will suddenly give out of true
generosity, or what God’s plan is. All we should be concerned about is
being available to serve Him and if that means accepting His
children’s charity, to us and to Him, who are we to refuse?
Sometimes you have to see the humor in life too.
Solomon said, At least the poor don’t have to worry about their lives
being held for ransom!
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PROVERBS
13:8
The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth no threatening.
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Want to hear more about those rewards we
were talking about earlier? These are all found in the Psalms of
David.
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PSALMS 9:18
For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation (hope)
of the poor shall not perish for ever.
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PSALMS 12:5
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now
will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that
puffeth at him.
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PSALMS 35:9-10
And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in His
salvation.
All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest
the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the
needy from him that spoileth him?
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PSALMS
69:29-33
But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on
high.
I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with
thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or
bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be
glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. For the LORD heareth
the poor, and despiseth not His prisoners.
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PSALMS
72:12-13
For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and
him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall
save the souls of the needy.
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PSALMS
109:30-31
I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise
Him among the multitude. For He shall stand at the right hand of the
poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
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PSALMS 140:12
I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and
the right of the poor.
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As
Christians, we have our hearts focused on life everlasting, after this
life. The comforts of wealth in this life are temporal, to satisfy the
flesh, not the soul. So, thinking about our hope of life eternal with
our Savior, I’d like for you to read what Solomon wrote about the
riches of this world.
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ECCLESIASTES 5:13-16
There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely,
riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches
perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing
in his hand. As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he
return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which
he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in
all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that
hath laboured for the wind?
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The Apostle Paul explains this same thing.
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1TIMOTHY
6:6-12
Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing
into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And
having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that
will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish
and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things;
and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience,
meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,
whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession
before many witnesses.
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PHILIPPIANS 4:11-13
I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I
know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and
in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both
to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me.
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There is another thing to consider, if none of this
has changed your attitude about being poor.
If you believe with your whole heart,
that by possessing riches,
you would better serve and glorify the Lord,
you can always pray for Him to provide you with what
you need to do that, and be sure to pray that His will be done. Here
are two parables that Jesus told that may comfort you.
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LUKE 18:1-8
And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always
to pray, and not to faint; saying,
There was in a city a judge, which feared not
God, neither regarded man:
And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying,
Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but
afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard
man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by
her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the
unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry
day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that
He will avenge them speedily.
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LUKE 11:5-13
And He said unto them,
Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go
unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing
to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me
not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I
cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and
give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity
(persistence) he
will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask,
and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If
a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him
a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much
more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
Him?
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When we look at things through a worldly point of
view, we become covetous, and we forget all about the cause that we’re
fighting for. We don’t need to be rich or smart or well liked to serve
Him.
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JAMES 2:5
Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this
world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised
to them that love Him?
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I
CORINTHIANS 1:26-31
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath
chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are
despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to
nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in His presence.
But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according
as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
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BELOW ARE THE LYRICS TO AN AWESOME SONG.
IT WAS WRITTEN BY TODD AGNEW AND IS TITLED ...
MY JESUS
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Which Jesus
do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?
Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand
Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?
Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or
fall down and worship at His holy feet
Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him
Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?
Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud
I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!
Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to
be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died
for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus |
YOU CAN LISTEN TO IT ON THE CONTEMPORARY CD PLAYER ON THE
I urge you to always look for the blessings that the
Lord has bestowed on you, because sometimes they may not seem like
blessings, unless you really look carefully at them. One last question
that you may want to ask.
Am I willing to give up all these blessings,
for worldly wealth?
May the Lord help you to seek and find His hidden
treasures ...
Take care and have a SON-derful day.
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