“And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” (John 1:16)
I write these short letters to you with a pen that has refillable cartridges and on wide ruled, very inexpensive notebooks. My lovely wife types them up for me and places them on the website. When I see these notepads on sale, I will usually purchase four or five of them, and so I ask you today, am I presupposing on the grace of God? Should I wait until there are only a few blank pages left in the notebook before I go and purchase another one, should I not keep a supply of cartridges on hand?
How do we know when we have too much?
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2nd Peter 3:10)
The virgins that had plenty of oil in their hands, and unless my poor memory fails me once again, also fell asleep waiting, but they had prepared for a long night. If you have been blessed to eat meals three times a day, I would suppose that you do not go to the market a few minutes before mealtime, but have a supply of food in your house, perhaps enough for a week or more. Is it wise or better yet, does it show wisdom to have several months of food on hand, or does it show a lack of faith in the daily provisions promised us?
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matt. 6:34)
A person preparing to go on a long journey does not fill his pantry first.
How much is enough and how much is too much? Where does common sense end and faith begin?
I know without a doubt that I have been called by the Lord to pen these letters, I know that the Holy Spirit guides me in them, but I do not know if I will be on this planet tomorrow. I know what is approaching, I know that the ability to purchase certain items will become very difficult, but I do not know when.
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matt. 24:36)
They took enough oil in their lamps to last through the night, that was enough.
The night is coming, we can see the shadows growing longer, and so we prepare. This is wisdom and does not presuppose on the grace of the Almighty. Each of us that have been crucified with Christ can hear clearly the Holy Spirit, and so it would be unwise for me to tell you how much is too much, you must determine that.
What you need, He will provide, if He does not, you do not need it.
We as humans have the tendency to place our cares on the table in front of the Lord, and then impatiently reach up and take a few of them back, thinking we know better. His grace is sufficient, but we must learn to trust and live in that grace. If it’s too much, He will let you know, if it is not enough, He will provide, that is faith.
Above all, one must trust in His promises, for He who has promised is faithful.
It seems wise to me to purchase several notebooks when they are on sale, as long as they are available, I see that as His grace. A case of them might be overdoing it a bit though.
Things will become scarce, this is by design, items of necessity will become hard to find, this also is part of our adversary’s plan. Your plan is to listen and listen with faith.
We are not preparing to stay here as long as possible; we are preparing to meet God.
