Baptist City Blog

Tools or Museums

Deuteronomy 20:6

"And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it."

Not far from where I live are several museums where people come to take vacations and see the artifacts or handiwork of people. The artifacts or handiworks inside these museums are not there for people to use, but they are there for people to look at. In all reality, the objects inside the museums are worthless for they are not being used. On the other hand, in my garage I have two toolboxes that are full of tools. These tools are used to help fix things and make things better. The tools help me make my quality of life much better. If I had to choose between having tools or visiting a museum, I would choose tools every time because they can be used.

In the verse above, God gave a command to Israel that when they went to war they were three categories of people who were to stay home and enjoy what they have. A man who built his house and did not have time to dedicate it was to stay home from the war so he could enjoy his house. A man who planted a vineyard and had not enjoyed the fruit of the vineyard was to stay home from the war so he could taste of its fruits. A man who married a wife and had not been married for a year was to stay home and enjoy his wife. Each of these represent three areas of our lives: investments, possessions and relationships. God was teaching us a truth in these verses that these areas are not to be museums, but they are to be tools that we use for enjoyment. In other words, God doesn't give us what we have to look at like its a museum, but God gives us what we have to use, enjoy and to serve Him.

Don't let your relationships be nothing more than a museum. For instance, you are not married just to say you are married. There are too many marital relationships where the couple literally exist with each other. They don't enjoy each others presence for they are never together. They don't do things together for they are too busy doing everything else to enjoy the person to whom they are married. This could also be said about the parent/child relationship. There are many parents who never enjoy the child God gave them. Their child lives in their home, but the parents are never there to enjoy the gift God has given them. Be careful that you don't treat your relationships like museums. That is the quickest way to lose your relationships. Enjoy the people in your relationships by spending time with them.

Furthermore, don't treat your possessions like museums. You home should be a tool to use and not a museum that is never used. What I am talking about is your home can be used to be hospitable to people, or you can make it a museum where no one comes to visit because you are afraid its not clean enough or you simply don't want "other" people in your home. Every possession you have should be a tool you use to serve God. I'm not promoting not taking care of what you have, but I am promoting using your possessions to enjoy life on this Earth.

Moreover, don't let your investments become museums. The purpose of investments is to have something to help you enjoy life when you become older. You can let your money sit in the bank or investment account to tell everybody how much money you have, but that money is worthless in such a state. Don't spend foolishly, but also don't be so stingy and tight that you can't enjoy life because you've made your investments a museum.

If you treat what you have as a museum, then you will lose it. The objects inside a museum are worthless and can never be used again; however, the tools in a toolbox may be a little dirty, but they are used all the time. Simply put, enjoy the relationships, possessions and investments that God has given you and use them as tools to help you better serve Him.

Release Them

Deuteronomy 15:1

"At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release."

One of the ways God set up for Israel to have a healthy economy was to release people from a debt after seven years. God did not believe in debt lasting longer than this time period. At the end of the seven years, if the person did not have their debt paid off, the creditor was to release them from that debt.

Though this verse is talking about financial debt, I find that there is another debt that needs to be released. The debt I am talking about is the debt someone pays for doing wrong. If you want to have a healthy spiritual economy, then you need to learn to release people from their debt when they do wrong. At some point the debt must be released, and the person who did wrong must be allowed to move on in life.

Sin does have a payment. God says in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death;..." A person cannot sin and expect not to pay for that sin. I do believe that people should pay for their sin. If people get away with sin then they will continue to sin, but in a greater way. Sin always forfeits certain rights. Letting people get away with sin is not love. In fact, you could say that love has nothing to do with letting people get away with sin, for they will do something bigger the next time, and the consequences will be greater.

However, sin's payment must end at some point. It is not just for someone to have to pay for their sin for the rest of their lives. Far too many Christians hold something against someone that they did several years prior. This is not right! Yes, that person should pay for their sin, but when the payment is done, they should be able to move on without you holding against them what they have done in the past. When their payment is done, you need to release them from their debt.

Christian, when someone falls into sin, be careful that you don't make them pay for their sin after the payment is over. At some point people need to be able to move on in their Christian life and be used again. When you read the Scriptures, you will find that God used many people after they committed a horrible sin. Why is that? Because God knows that sin's punishment must end, and that they must be released from that punishment. Be careful about holding the past against someone. Allow them to be spiritually restored.

Furthermore, Christian school teachers need to allow students to move on in their life. If a student has done wrong, then let the rules determine the punishment, but once the punishment is administered, you need to release them and treat them like every other student. Give a student who has done wrong a chance to be restored.

Simply put, the punishment for wrong needs to be predetermined before a wrong has ever been committed. Once someone does wrong, then administer the predetermined punishment, but once the punishment is over, you need to release them from that punishment.

Let me ask you, is there someone whom you have held prisoner in your heart and mind over something that was done several years ago? It's time you release them from their punishment. Even if there is no dispute about the wrong, you need to realize that God wants His children to move on so we can help more people. Don't be guilty of holding something against people, instead be willing to release them from your mental prison and treat them right.

Obedience: The Key to Blessings

Deuteronomy 11:27

"A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:"

Everyone wants their life to be filled with blessings, but how they go about gaining blessings on their life can determine whether they obtain them. When I talk about blessings, I am not just talking about God blessing His children, though this is certainly an important part of every Christian's life. I am talking about being blessed in every relationship and walk of life. God shows us that obedience is the key to being blessed. If a person will learn to obey, then they will experience blessings.

In your relationship with God, the key to being blessed is obeying His commandments. You will never experience God's blessings on your life until you start obeying Him. Likewise, to the degree you obey God's commandments will determine the degree of the blessings you obtain. If you pick and choose which commandments of God you obey, then you will never experience all the blessings that God has for you. God does not give us commandments to make us miserable, but He gives us commandments to keep us from heartache and so that we can experience His blessings.

Moreover, this principle applies to other relationships. For instance, if you want your parents blessings and trust on your life, then you need to obey them. There is no parent who will give their child blessings who is disobedient. Obedience is the key to getting your parents to give you things. Young person, the way to get something from your parents is not to rebel and give them heartache, but the way to get things from your parents is to obey them. Why should your parents give you anything if you don't obey them? The young person who obeys everything that their parents tell them to do is the young person who will receive the greatest trust from their parents and will get from them things that a disobedient child won't get.

Likewise, obedience to your spouse is the key to blessings in the marital relationship. You will never get from your spouse what you want when all you do is argue and fight with them. When you try to meet the needs of your spouse in every area of their life, you will be surprised how much they will try to meet your needs. The key to getting from your spouse what you want is to simply try to satisfy their needs. If they ask you to do something, then obey their request and you will see many times they will return your obedience to their requests by giving you what you want.

The key to being promoted on the job is to obey your employer. You show me the employee who tries to satisfy the needs of their employer and I will show you an employee who will rise to the top. The way to get a raise is to work hard. The way to be promoted on the job is to work hard. The way to be protected from layoffs is to be the hardest and most productive employee in the workplace. Your employer will do everything in their power to keep you happy and bless you if you will obey them by working hard.

Place this principle in any relationship, and you will find this is the key to being blessed. You could say that the key to blessings is to serve others, for when you serve others you obey their requests and commands. When you learn that life is not about you, but it is about serving others, then you will find blessings will shower upon you. The key is to stop looking for blessings and to start serving and obeying others. When you make your focus to obey the requests of God and others, then you will find it will result in a life filled with blessings.

Conquering Your Canaan

Numbers 33:52

"Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:"

Canaan is a picture of God's perfect will for the Christian. God's desire for every Christian is to live in the perfect will of God. What most people don't understand is that living in God's perfect will does not mean that you won't have battles to fight and sin to overcome. God told the children of Israel that once they got into the land of Canaan they would have to drive out the inhabitants and get rid of their sins. This is a picture of how the Christian must overcome their sin so that they can enjoy living in God's perfect will for their life.

If you are going to conquer your Canaan and enjoy God's perfect will for your life, then you must confess your sin to God. Passing over the Jordan river is a picture of a Christian leaving their sin to do right. You will never conquer the old habits of sin without first confessing your sin to God. God wants to help you overcome your sin, but you must confess them to Him. Recognizing that you have a Jordan River to cross is not good enough, there must be a time when you go to God and confess them to Him so that you can move on to conquering your Canaan.

Once you confess your sin to God, then you must be sure those sins don't come back into your life. For this to happen you must have a determination not to let your sin conquer you again. God told the children of Israel to "drive out all the inhabitants." This is pure determination. If you are not determined to conquer your sinful habits, then you won't overcome them.

Once you determine that you are going to conquer your sinful habits, to help your determination you must get rid of any reminders of those sins. Notice that God told them "to destroy all their pictures" and "molten images." Pictures and images are reminders of the past. A picture is always something that happened in the past. If you want to overcome your sinful habits, then you MUST get rid of any reminders of those sins. You can't keep reminders around without those reminders tempting you. Face it, you are not strong enough to keep your reminders of the past around without eventually partaking of them again. Getting rid of sin is wonderful, but you must also get rid of any reminder of that sin so that it can't tempt you again.

Moreover, you must avoid the places of sin. God told them to get rid of the "high places." Any place where you used to go must be avoided. For instance, an alcoholic won't overcome alcohol by going back to the bar to visit with his old friends. Though he may think he can go to the same places, the problem with those places is that sin is still prevalent there. If you truly want to overcome your sin, then you are going to have to change your habits and the places you go. Avoid them so you can overcome them.

Furthermore, if you are going to conquer your Canaan, you must change your associations. God told Israel to "dispossess the inhabitants of the land." You can't run with the old crowd and live a new life. I know it may sound rude to stop running with your old friends, but you can't run with them for they will continue to do what they have always done. What they do is what you are trying to overcome. Changing your associations is imperative to conquering your Canaan.

Finally, let me remind you that it is important to replace what you drive out with good. Getting rid of sin, its reminders and your bad associations is wonderful, but you must replace each of these areas with good. Any time you remove bad you must replace it with good. Replace your bad associations with good ones. If you want to live the victorious Christian life, then you must follow these steps of removing your sin.

Graves of the Longing

Numbers 11:34

"And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted."

Imagine having God as your personal chef Who prepared your meal on a daily basis. I'm sure you think there is no way anyone could ever get tired of that, but the children of Israel did. Every morning and evening the children of Israel were given manna from Heaven to eat. No other group of people ever tasted of this manna, only the children of Israel. You would think they would be excited to have these blessings from God on a daily basis, but we find in this chapter that they complained about being fed manna. Their dissatisfaction caused them to ask God for meat instead of the manna. This request resulted in God's judgment, and to the death of many people. When they buried those who died in God's judgment, they called the place, "Kibrothhattaavah" which means, graves of the longing. In other words, their dissatisfaction led to their death.

Dissatisfaction always kills. It doesn't matter if the dissatisfaction is with God or mankind, it will eventually kill your relationship with either. Dissatisfaction is a result of someone having their eyes upon themselves. When you look at what God did for the children of Israel, you would think they would never become dissatisfied, but when you are selfish nothing satisfies and is ever good enough. The children of Israel asked God to deliver them from Egypt, and He did, but that was not good enough. The children of Israel asked God to part the Red Sea, and He did, but that was not good enough. The children of Israel asked God to give them water, and He did, but that was not good enough. The children of Israel asked God to give them food, and He did, but that was not good enough. Their pattern of dissatisfaction literally killed many of them. If they would have been satisfied with what God gave them, they would have never seen a premature death.

Are you one who constantly complains about what you don't have? Christian, God promised to take care of your needs, and for you to complain about what you don't have is simply telling God that His blessings are not good enough. I have watched God bless Christians whose satisfaction lasted for a short time, but afterwards they always wanted more. Be careful about not being satisfied with what you have, for it will take you to a spiritual grave. Don't gripe about what you don't have, but be satisfied and thankful for what you do have. You don't get more from God by complaining, you get more from God by serving Him and being thankful for what you do have.

Moreover, there are many people who are killing their relationships because they are never satisfied with what someone has done for them. Don't kill your marriage because you are never satisfied with what your spouse does for you. Don't kill your relationship with your parents because you are not satisfied with what they have provided for you. Don't kill your work relationship because you are never satisfied with what your employer provides for you. If you are not careful, you will get to the point where it doesn't matter what someone does for you because it will never be good enough.

1 Timothy 6:8 commands, "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." Don't let your longing for more become the grave of your relationships. Be content with what you have. If you will get your eyes off yourself and become content with what you have, then everything you get above that will be a bonus. The best way to keep yourself from discontentment is to not look at what others have, but to be thankful for what you do have. Everything you have is a bonus from God and others, so stop comparing what you have with others, for if you don't, it will become your grave. Be thankful for everything you have and that will bring satisfaction in every area of your life.

Are You Burdened?

Numbers 4:31

"And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,"

When God appointed men to work in the tabernacle of the congregation, He charged them with a burden. It is interesting that when talking about their tasks God says, "And this is the charge of their burden,..." Yes, God was saying that this would be the load that they must carry, but He was saying more than that. God was saying that the tasks that these men were supposed to carry out should be their burden or focus of their heart. God knew these men made their tasks the focus of their heart that they would give their best effort in what they did.

Everything you do in life you should do for God. Whether what you do is for the church, family or career, it should all be done for God's glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." God does not divide tasks in your life and say that some are important and others are not. God says that everything you do should be done for the LORD. If you want to be successful in what you do for the LORD, then everything you do should become your burden.

When something is a burden, it will consume you. Your thought life will constantly think about whatever you're doing. A burden will cause you to give your best effort. Whenever you are doing what you are burdened about, you find yourself doing your best because you are burdened for it. A burden will motivate you to keep going. One of the biggest reasons people quit their tasks is because they are not burdened for what they are doing. A burden will also cause you to sacrifice. You will find that when you are burdened for something, you are more willing to give up things for it. You will find that sacrificing pleasure is not that difficult when you are burdened for something. This is why God called these tasks a burden, for He wants you to make everything you do for Him your burden.

Let me ask you, are you burdened for your responsibilities at your church? Too many Christians give a second-rate effort when it comes to the work of the LORD. You should let your responsibilities in the church consume your mind and efforts. No, this doesn't mean that you should not give time to your family, but what it does mean is that you should share this burden with your family. When your whole family is burdened for the same task, you will find it is easier to keep close to every family member.

Let me ask you, are you burdened for your family? Every person should be burdened about their family serving God. Your family's effort in serving the LORD should consume your thoughts. You should constantly think about how you and your family can serve the LORD together.

Furthermore, are you burdened for the career God has given you? You must realize that God has given you the career you have, and because of this you should give your best effort towards it. You should strive to be the best in your field. You should strive to improve in what you are doing. If you are burdened for your career, then you will find these things are not difficult.

Finally, are you burdened for the souls of men? Every Christian should be a soul winner. The eternity of people should consume your passions. Knowing that you have the responsibility to get the Gospel to people should motivate you to witness to everyone you see.

Yes, you need a burden. You need to be burdened for everything you do in life. When you become burdened for all that you do, you will find that your life will have purpose.

Having, But Not Experiencing God's Blessings

Leviticus 26:3-4

"If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit."

In this chapter, God shows His children the conditions for not only having His blessings, but also experiencing His blessings. God shows what we must do to be able to have His blessings, but also what things will cause us to lose His blessings. If you are like me, I truly want God's blessings on and in my life. God shows us what kind of blessings we can have if we will do right.

First, we will have fruits for our labors. There is nothing worse than working hard and watching what you worked so hard for not come to fruition. God says that if you will do right, you will see the fruits of your labors. If the only reason you do right is not to work in vain, then that should be enough to motivate you to do right.

Second, God will give us peace if we do right. Everyone desires to have peace in their life. This world is in constant search for peace, but many times they never find it because they are searching for peace in the wrong way. You get God's peace in your life by doing right. Doing right has a way of making you at peace with yourself and God. Peace is not acquired. It is a result of doing right.

Third, you will gain God's respect if you will do right. God promises that He will take your side if you do right. What confidence you can have in your life knowing that God is always on your side if you will do right. Knowing that you have God's favor and respect will help you in every endeavor of life.

Fourth, you will gain God's presence by doing right. If the only reason you do right is to have the presence of God on your life, then that should be enough. The Christian life is empty without God's presence. Only with His presence will you find the true satisfaction you truly desire in life.

What is interesting about these blessings is that they depend upon you doing something. In other words, you can have God's blessings at your disposal, but if you don't do something then you won't experience them. For instance, God promised rain to give you fruit, but you have to sow in order to reap. God promised peace, but you will have to fight to get it. God promised He would be on your side, but you will have to continually walk the old-time way. God promised His presence will be with you, but you must take time to walk with Him if you want His presence. In other words, you can literally have God's blessings, but not experience them because you are not doing what it takes to experience them.

Christian, God intended for you to experience His blessings. Just because you have them at your disposal does not mean that you have experienced God's blessings on your life. There are many Christians who stopped doing wrong and have God's blessings at their disposal, but you will only experience those blessings by doing right. Don't be one who only has God blessings, but be one who experiences God's blessings as well. The Christian who experiences God's blessings is the Christian who makes the greatest impact on those around them. Don't waste God's blessings by having them but not using them. God's blessings are meant to be used, but they will only be used when you experience them by doing something for God.

Leave Some

Leviticus 19:10

"And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God."

I spent most of my childhood years growing up in an agricultural community. It was a common sight to see workers harvesting the field while leaving some of the crops in the field. When they were done harvesting, you would frequently see some people go through that field and glean from the leftovers.

This is what God commanded the children of Israel to do when they harvested their crops. God wanted them to "leave them for the poor and stranger:..." This principle was important for God to bless whoever owned that field. The person who owned the field could be selfish and make sure that there was nothing to glean, but if they did this they would not have God's blessings upon their crops. In other words, God would bless them with a greater harvest if they learned to leave some for the poor.

One of the greatest principles any person can learn is to let others enjoy God's blessings with you. I often say that some may be eating the crumbs off another man's blessings, but that is what God desires. When God blesses you in any area of life, you should learn to share that blessing with others. God did not bless you for you to keep that blessing all to yourself, but God intended for you to share it with others. There are several areas where this principle can be applied.

In the area of finances you need to learn to share God's blessings. If God has blessed you financially, then you would be wise to share some of those blessings with the poor. If you want God to continue to bless your finances, then the greatest way to keep those blessings coming is by helping those who are without. When you see someone struggling financially, then you should help them if you have the wherewithal.

In the area of a successful project, you need to learn to share the glory of that success with others. You will often see great people not take the glory for themselves, but most of the time they deflect that glory to those who will never get the recognition. Be careful about being someone who always has to get the glory for everything. Don't be selfish with the glory of your success. Always remember that others had a part in your success, and you should be quick to share your glory with them.

In the area of your church ministries, be sure that you do not to take all the glory of a successful day for yourself. Leave some glory for others to enjoy. You would be surprised how people will give more if you are willing to leave some glory for them to enjoy. If you always take the credit for a great day and never let others enjoy some of the glory, then you will find it hard to motivate them to help you the next time. Leave some glory for them.

One of the greatest ways to motivate people to help you as you serve God is to learn to leave some glory for them when you experience God's blessings. Getting people to help you with projects is not hard if they see that you are willing to share the credit with them. The principle of leaving some glory for others will allow you to always have people to help when you pursue your next project or goal.

The Plague of Sin

Leviticus 13:45-46

"And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be."

God spent much time and detail telling the children of Israel how to deal with the plague of leprosy. Leprosy was a very infectious disease in those days, and they had no cure for it. Leprosy was a disease that would literally rot the body. Those who had it knew that their life was short because nobody could survive it because there was no cure, God told Moses that those who had leprosy must be taken without the camp and dwell alone for the rest of their life. The affects of leprosy on a person's life were very tragic.

In the Scriptures, leprosy is a type of sin. When you look at what leprosy did to a person's body, you will find that sin will have the exact same affect on a person's life. With leprosy being a type of sin, the verse above shows us the lasting effects that sin will have on a person's life.

First, sin will make you sick that you have committed it. You may think that sin will be fun, but it is only fun for a time and afterwards there is regret. Certainly sin can offer a great time, but it never tells you how it will leave you. Don't fall for the lie of sin. Sin will leave you feeling sick, and you will regret the moment that you accepted its invitation.

Second, sin will change your appearance. Leprosy changed the appearance of an individual in many ways. One of the ways it changed their appearance was when their limbs would fall off. Another way it changed one's appearance was that they had to cover their upper lip so that people knew to stay away from them. It is amazing to me to see how sin ages those who live its life. You look at those who lived right and you will see a stark difference from those who've lived a life of sin. You may enjoy your appearance now, but if you choose to live a life of sin it will change that innocent young look to a hardened old look. The best way to look young is to live a right life, for a life of sin will age anyone.

Third, sin will make you an outcast. Those who had leprosy had to be placed without the camp and cry, "Unclean." Whether or not we like it, sin always leaves a mark on one's life that will cause them to be an outcast. I know, Christians are to be in the restoration business, but the fact is that many who chose sin's offer live the rest of their lives feeling like an outcast.

Fourth, sin will leave you all alone. Those who had leprosy lived without the camp for the rest of their life. Christian, sin will always leave you lonely. Those who lured you into sin will leave you when you have nothing more to offer. Sin has lonely effects. If you want to grow old and be happy, then you would be wise to live a right life, for if you don't you will find yourself all alone.

I cannot caution you enough about sin. Many times it seems that as a preacher I am preaching to the wind as some won't listen and think that they can live in sin and it affecting them. You are no different than anyone else. Sin is a plague that will dig deep and without damage your spiritual and physical life. Don't listen to sin! Heed God's warnings and do right so that you can avoid the loneliness and heartache of sin.

Providing For Your Own

1 Timothy 5:8

"But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."

This chapter begins by God telling the church how to take care of the widows. God made it very clear that the children are to take care of the widow; however, when there is no family to take care of the widow, then the church needs to do its best to make sure her needs are well cared for.

In the verse above, God shows that the best way to deal with this problem of taking care of widows is for the husband to provide for her, even when he is gone. God makes this such a strong statement that He says a man who doesn't provide for his own is "...worse than an infidel." An infidel is an unsaved person who is untrustworthy. God was not just talking about a person not being saved, but He adds to the degree by saying they are untrustworthy. This means that if a Christian man does not provide for his wife to the day of her death, then an untrustworthy lost man is a better person than he. I believe providing for your own means several things.

First, a man who provides for his own is a man who leads the home spiritually. Notice that God compared the person who doesn't provide for his own to an infidel. That means the man should lead the home by getting saved. It is sad when a man is a hard worker, but won't get saved. Sir, do you realize that if you were to die that your wife and children will never see you again? Part of taking care of your own is to take care of your eternity. If you are not saved, then you need to care for this.

Second, taking care of your own implies that a man is trustworthy. Part of being an infidel is being untrustworthy. Every man should be someone who can be trusted. When you say you are going to do something, then be sure to find a way to follow through. Be trustworthy in your marriage vows. Don't give your wife a reason not to trust your fidelity. You can provide security to your wife by being trustworthy in every area of your life.

Third, a man should be the bread winner of the home. We live in a society where it pushes the woman to be the bread winner of the home. God never intended for it to be this way. God intended for the husband to be the one who earns the living to pay for the bills and daily needs. Every man should do everything in his power to earn enough money to pay the bills so that it allows his wife to stay at home to care for the children.

Fourth, a man should also take care of his wife when he is gone. The context of the verse above is mainly talking about providing for your spouse after your death. That means you should make sure that you have a good retirement program. There is no better time to start preparing for retirement than now. You may be starting later in life, but later is better than never. Furthermore, I think it is wise to have life insurance. A life insurance policy will go a long way in making sure your wife is cared for when you are gone. Talk to a qualified person about this topic as there are many views about life insurance. Moreover, I believe you can provide after you are gone by setting up a revocable living trust. This will help you to be sure that when both husband and wife are gone that their assets are cared for a manner in which God would be pleased.

I certainly understand that sometimes adverse circumstances can mess up your plans, but you should do your best to make sure to care for all of these areas. The government is not responsible to care for your family. You are! Let this devotional spur your concern about making sure that you are preparing for all of these areas.