BBD 07.18.14 Give It Up! (New)

#1 · July 18, 2014, 2:09 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on July 18, 2014, 2:09 pm
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

If for
some reason you do not receive your email version of the devotional please
check the Burning Bush website at www.theburningbush.net for the “Devotional of the Day”
and read the devotional there.

The Burning
Bush Devotional

07.18.14

Give It
Up!

Jesus said to him (The Rich Young Ruler), “If you want to be
perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that
saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. - Matthew
19:21-22 NKJV.

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and mammon. - Matthew 6:24 NKJV.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains
the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? - Luke 9:24-26 NKJV.

At one
time, German Sterligov was one of the richest men in Russia. He was an oligarch
who was rich, powerful, and famous. Sterligov was the first legal Russian
millionaire since the Revolution in 1917. He began the first Russian
commodities exchange in the early 1990s and had more than 2500 employees. He
ran for President in Russia but only succeeded in creating a lot of debt and
sold his four-story mansion in Moscow to pay it off. An idea then took hold of
Sterligov, what if he were to give it all up? He then proceeded to sell off and
give away all that he owned. He sold his penthouse in New York, sold his
retreat in Geneva and castle in Burgundy, sold his offices in Wall Street,
London and in Moscow. He also gave away shares worth hundreds of millions of
dollars.

What
did Sterligov do after he had gotten rid of all of his riches? He took his
family, consisting of his wife and five kids and camped out in the middle of
some woods about 60 miles from Moscow. With the small amount of money they had
left, they built a little log cabin with no electricity. Only a few days after
they moved out of the tent and into the cabin their fifth child was born there.
Sterligov says this about his new life, “Not in a
million years do I want to be a businessman with these silly, shiny badges of
success; the Rublyovka houses, swanky yachts, Bentleys and so on. I’m happy
with my peace in the countryside, and my sheep, along with my wife and kids.
Being super-rich is a kind of slavery from which we’re free, thankfully.” (BBC; Daily Mail
07.17.14)

Sterligov does claim to be part of the Russian Orthodox Church
although there was no clear statement that his faith led him to the decision
that he made to leave his riches behind. However, it may be that his faith is
part of why he and his wife have such peace with their decision now.
Sterligov’s story is somewhat similar to what the Rich Young Ruler from the
Bible would have had to give up to follow Jesus. It would have been difficult,
but possible.

What about you? Have you given up anything to follow Jesus? Many
in ministry have given up careers and comfortable lives to launch out into the
unknown world of an uncertain future not knowing where they will end up or even
how they will survive financially. Many have left behind their addictions to
follow Jesus. Many have left behind lives of crime to follow Jesus. Many have
left behind their sinful lifestyles to follow Jesus. Many have left behind the
faiths of their parents and ancestors to follow Jesus even though some of them
were killed because of leaving the Muslim faith. What about you? Have you given
up anything to follow Jesus?

Copyright © 2014. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The .org
Burning Bush website

is being updated.

The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on theburningbush.net
website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.

Prayer Warriors Wanted! Please join the
Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998. Send prayer requests and
receive prayer requests. To join send an
email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush
website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests
there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

You can unsubscribe to the
burningbushdevo devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html
text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is only being sent now
in html format) by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org
and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

If for
some reason you do not receive your email version of the devotional please
check the Burning Bush website at http://www.theburningbush.net for the “Devotional of the Day”
and read the devotional there.

The Burning
Bush Devotional

07.18.14

Give It
Up!

Jesus said to him (The Rich Young Ruler), “If you want to be
perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that
saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. - Matthew
19:21-22 NKJV.

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and mammon. - Matthew 6:24 NKJV.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains
the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? - Luke 9:24-26 NKJV.

At one
time, German Sterligov was one of the richest men in Russia. He was an oligarch
who was rich, powerful, and famous. Sterligov was the first legal Russian
millionaire since the Revolution in 1917. He began the first Russian
commodities exchange in the early 1990s and had more than 2500 employees. He
ran for President in Russia but only succeeded in creating a lot of debt and
sold his four-story mansion in Moscow to pay it off. An idea then took hold of
Sterligov, what if he were to give it all up? He then proceeded to sell off and
give away all that he owned. He sold his penthouse in New York, sold his
retreat in Geneva and castle in Burgundy, sold his offices in Wall Street,
London and in Moscow. He also gave away shares worth hundreds of millions of
dollars.

What
did Sterligov do after he had gotten rid of all of his riches? He took his
family, consisting of his wife and five kids and camped out in the middle of
some woods about 60 miles from Moscow. With the small amount of money they had
left, they built a little log cabin with no electricity. Only a few days after
they moved out of the tent and into the cabin their fifth child was born there.
Sterligov says this about his new life, “Not in a
million years do I want to be a businessman with these silly, shiny badges of
success; the Rublyovka houses, swanky yachts, Bentleys and so on. I’m happy
with my peace in the countryside, and my sheep, along with my wife and kids.
Being super-rich is a kind of slavery from which we’re free, thankfully.” (BBC; Daily Mail
07.17.14)

Sterligov does claim to be part of the Russian Orthodox Church
although there was no clear statement that his faith led him to the decision
that he made to leave his riches behind. However, it may be that his faith is
part of why he and his wife have such peace with their decision now.
Sterligov’s story is somewhat similar to what the Rich Young Ruler from the
Bible would have had to give up to follow Jesus. It would have been difficult,
but possible.

What about you? Have you given up anything to follow Jesus? Many
in ministry have given up careers and comfortable lives to launch out into the
unknown world of an uncertain future not knowing where they will end up or even
how they will survive financially. Many have left behind their addictions to
follow Jesus. Many have left behind lives of crime to follow Jesus. Many have
left behind their sinful lifestyles to follow Jesus. Many have left behind the
faiths of their parents and ancestors to follow Jesus even though some of them
were killed because of leaving the Muslim faith. What about you? Have you given
up anything to follow Jesus?

Copyright © 2014. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The .org
Burning Bush website

is being updated.

The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on theburningbush.net
website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.

Prayer Warriors Wanted! Please join the
Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998. Send prayer requests and
receive prayer requests. To join send an
email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush
website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests
there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

You can unsubscribe to the
burningbushdevo devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html
text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is only being sent now
in html format) by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org
and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org