This word is submitted by Priscilla Cupp [priscilla@klefcu.com]

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                  Poverty Or Wealth?

There is much confusion in the world today over poverty or wealth. Some
believe the Lord wants us to be poor and some believe the Lord desires for
us to be rich. So, we must look to God's Holy Word, the Bible, to find out
what God really desires for His children.

I happened to be born on the side of fence that was poor. My family paid our
bills as they were paid and sometimes had to borrow to pay the bills. I had
always heard the Bible verse about it being harder for a rich man to enter
Heaven than a camel to go through the eye of a needle, and so I thought God
wanted us to be poor. I couldn't understand how a loving Father wanted us to
be poor, but I was limited in my understanding and if I were to ever get any
money saved up, then I would feel guilty for having it. For sure, Satan had
me bound to poverty. We had to trust in God sometimes to place food on our
table and so our faith in God grew as we were never hungry.

On the other hand, the Lord has shown me that there are others who have been
born on the other side of the fence into wealth. They too have heard the
verse about rich men getting into Heaven and they have also heard of
Jesus asking the rich young ruler to sell everything he had, to distribute
to the poor, and come and follow Him. This man went away sad. The reason
Jesus asked him to do this is because this young ruler had riches and had
placed his trust in his riches instead of God.

The truth is that Jesus knows it takes money to spread the Word of God.
Jesus said that He wished above all things that we would prosper and be in
good health. The Lord owns all of the silver and gold and we read that
Heaven has streets of gold. God is no stranger to wealth and He doesn't want
us to be either. He wants to bless us so that we can bless others and always
remember that it is He who gives us the power to get wealth. He never wants
us to place our trust in riches above Him, but to always trust Him to
provide whatever we need.

There are many people who have gotten rich by their own hand or by an
inheritance, but they have no true peace. When God provides the wealth, He
secures it and man cannot take it away. We do not have to labor for the
prosperity given by God. God wants to make us wealthy and never forget that
it is by His hand. The Lord has provided a covenant blessing to us from
Abraham through Jesus and that is when we make a seed offering of money, we
will reap a harvest of money. God wanted more sons and so He planted His
seed offering of His own son Jesus to reap more sons. This is the law of the
harvest. What is planted is what will grow. God has made this law of seed
time, harvest time. God will not change this law.

God wants His children out of debt and blessed. He doesn't want you to be in
poverty and He doesn't want you miserable because of the things you have.
Start planting into the Kingdom Of God today and watch God produce a crop
from what you have planted. God will provide the rain and make it grow. It
doesn't make much sense in the natural, but makes all kinds of sense in the
spiritual. If you plant corn...you grow much corn. If you plant beans...you
grow much beans. If you plant money...you grow much money. This is what God
created and it is His system and it works. Remember, any good farmer knows
that there is time for the crop to grow once the seed is planted. So plant
your seed, trust in God to provide the rain, and watch what a mighty harvest
you will receive from the Lord!

I pray God's peace for those of you are wealthy, but miserable. Give to the
Lord and learn to trust in Him and He will give you a peace that you have
never known! He wants so much for your faith to grow in Him to bring you
through. The only way you can learn this is if you truly are not trusting in
your finances, but Him! God will bring you out. He wants you to have wealth.
Don't allow Satan to attack you any longer for what you have been blessed
with, but remember to give back to the Lord out of what you have. The Lord
will secure your harvest with your offerings and you won't have to try to
protect what you have any longer. God will guard it for you!