Give Thanks and Grow Rich
Dearest Father, thank You that in Christ, I stopped running after money. I give thanks and grow rich, having abundance until I overflow. As written in the Gospel today.
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Today's Readings
First Reading: Genesis 3: 9-24
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 90: 2, 3-4abc, 5-6, 12-13
Alleluia: Matthew 4: 4b
Gospel: Mark 8: 1-10
Reading 1, Genesis 3:9-24
Genesis 3:9-24 GNBDK
[9] But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”
[10] He answered, “I heard you in the garden; I was afraid and hid from you, because I was naked.”
[11] “Who told you that you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat the fruit that I told you not to eat?”
[12] The man answered, “The woman you put here with me gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” [13] The LORD God asked the woman, “Why did you do this?” She replied, “The snake tricked me into eating it.”
[14] Then the LORD God said to the snake, “You will be punished for this; you alone of all the animals must bear this curse: from now on you will crawl on your belly, and you will have to eat dust as long as you live.
[15] I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel.”
[16] And he said to the woman, “I will increase your trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him.”
[17] And he said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate the fruit which I told you not to eat. Because of what you have done, the ground will be under a curse. You will have to work hard all your life to make it produce enough food for you.
[18] It will produce weeds and thorns, and you will have to eat wild plants.
[19] You will have to work hard and sweat to make the soil produce anything, until you go back to the soil from which you were formed. You were made from soil, and you will become soil again.”
[20] Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all human beings.
[21] And the LORD God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife, and he clothed them.
[22] Then the LORD God said, “Now the man has become like one of us and has knowledge of what is good and what is bad. He must not be allowed to take fruit from the tree that gives life, eat it, and live for ever.”
[23] So the LORD God sent him out of the Garden of Eden and made him cultivate the soil from which he had been formed.
[24] Then at the east side of the garden he put living creatures and a flaming sword which turned in all directions. This was to keep anyone from coming near the tree that gives life.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 90:2, 3-4, 5-6, 12-13
R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Before the mountains were begotten and the earth and the world were brought forth, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust, saying, "Return, O children of men." For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass, which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Gospel, Mark 8:1-10
Mark 8:1-10 GNBDK
[1] Not long afterwards another large crowd came together. When the people had nothing left to eat, Jesus called the disciples to him and said,
[2] “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat.
[3] If I send them home without feeding them, they will faint as they go, because some of them have come a long way.”
[4] His disciples asked him, “Where in this desert can anyone find enough food to feed all these people?”
[5] “How much bread have you got?” Jesus asked. “Seven loaves,” they answered.
[6] He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks to God, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the crowd; and the disciples did so.
[7] They also had a few small fish. Jesus gave thanks for these and told the disciples to distribute them too.
[8-9] Everybody ate and had enough — there were about 4,000 people. Then the disciples took up seven baskets full of pieces left over. Jesus sent the people away
[10] and at once got into a boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
Dearest Father,
Thank You that in Christ, I stopped chasing after money. I’m rich, having abundance until I overflow. As written in the Gospel today.
Mark 8:7-9 GNBDK
[7] They also had a few small fish (with 7 loaves). Jesus gave thanks for these and told the disciples to distribute them too. [8-9] Everybody ate and had enough — there were about 4,000 people. Then the disciples took up seven baskets full of pieces left over.
In 2021, I was drowning in debts.
Fresh from the pandemic where my brother-in-law temporarily lost his seaman’s job, I became the major breadwinner in our extended family of 7.
I'm single and up until then, I've fend for myself. But that time I learned how heavy the pressure of looking for money for food and bills. Plus the added weight of debts.
And since I'm paid by the hour, I was always calculating how much time I needed to work to receive that much money for bills, food, and debt payments.
It never seemed enough and I was in this hamster wheel, always running after money.
It truly is the painful toil and sweat that the First Reading talked about:
Genesis 3:19
[19] You will have to work hard and sweat to make the soil produce anything, until you go back to the soil from which you were formed. You were made from soil, and you will become soil again.”
I would always look for avenues to borrow until I turned to these online lending apps. But I couldn't find enough work to earn enough and pay these debts.
Creditors began calling me day and night, 36x a day. Yes, I counted. Including even my mama who was my emergency contact.
I would cry out to God in the middle of the night, crying for his mercy to help me.
On my daily walks, I would see these flocks of birds flying around and playing on the grass and I would remember Matthew 6.
Matthew 6:26 GNBDK
[26] Look at the birds: they do not sow seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds?
I would cry again. And beg for mercy again.
Then God in His mercy allowed me to see this YouTube video of Gary Kasee on Sid Roth’s, It's Supernatural! show.
The thumbnail, “He stopped running after money”, called out to me.
I watched it and in that instant, I was reminded of my power as a child and heir of God in His Kingdom.
I remembered Matthew 6 again, just after the verse about the birds being taken care of by God:
Matthew 6:31-34 GNBDK
[31] “So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ [32] (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. [33] Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. [34] So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.
Be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what He requires of you.
I knew this my whole Christian life but it got drowned by all the noise and worry for provision.
I began seeking and learning about God's Kingdom in earnest. I devoured Gary's teachings on how to operate in God's Kingdom as His child and heir.
Primarily, that Jesus has saved me from the earth-curse system of painful toil and sweat and had transferred me into God's Kingdom of abundance and overflow.
That I don't have to beg God for anything, everything is already mine in the Kingdom. I only have to command it to come to me and receive it with the authority of Christ.
This particular Gospel verse today was insightful.
Mark 8:6-9 GNBDK
[6] He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks to God, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the crowd; and the disciples did so. [7] They also had a few small fish. Jesus gave thanks for these and told the disciples to distribute them too. [8-9] Everybody ate and had enough — there were about 4,000 people. Then the disciples took up seven baskets full of pieces left over. Jesus sent the people away.
Jesus took the small things (7 loaves and few small fish) that the disciples had, blessed them, gave thanks, and distributed them.
Pastor Gary taught that when Jesus gave thanks over the food, He transferred those things from the earth-cursed system of lack and brought them into God's Kingdom of abundance and overflow.
The Lord taught me something else then:
If I have everything in the Kingdom, then all I need and want is mine. Everything I've prayed for to God is mine! Even though I couldn't still see them in reality.
In Christ, I already have them. In Christ, I'm already rich.
Then it's time to give thanks. Whenever we receive a gift we are taught to say thank you. Now that I've received everything in the Kingdom, I ought to say thank You, Father, for everything.
I learned to give thanks. I gave thanks for my supernatural debt cancellation, I gave thanks for my provision.
I gave thanks to God always and for everything.
That's how I fought fear and worry. Every time I remembered any need and payments to be made, I gave thanks to God that I already received those in faith.
That was such a learning phase. I learned how to operate in God's Kingdom with the power and authority of a child and heir of God in Christ, declaring His word over every situation I face.
I detailed all these lessons in my book, Give Thanks and Grow Rich.
This ebook is now available to my readers on my digital shop. It’s a Google Doc so you can easily read it even on your phone. Praise God, thank You, Lord!
This was how I stopped chasing after money and living the rich life that Jesus died to give me.
I've learned to live the 4 pillars of the RichLife in Christ that God has shown me. I learned to give thanks and grow rich.
Learning that proved handy in my storms of life.
I had a thoracic aneurysm death scare in 2022, feeling the symptoms. I also feel this mass in my abdomen. I dwelt on God's word of healing and thanked God for it in advance.
My condo got foreclosed and I decided and decreed against it, thanked God in faith for the easy resolution of this foreclosure, and I won it back.
That's how it is to operate in the Kingdom of God. That's how it is to live the rich life in Christ.
Everything you need, and even want, is met. Sometimes, even before you ask it.
The other day, I suddenly had a desire to eat Tilapia fish so I thought of asking my sister to buy some from my brother who cultures Tilapia fishes.
I think I forgot to ask her. But yesterday at lunch, my sister suddenly said my brother and his wife harvested Tilapia and they've sent us some. My mama went to get it and we had delicious Tilapia for dinner until we had our fill.
See that?
That's God providing for His beloved. I am His beloved.
So are you.
That's how it is to live the rich life in Christ.
So I invite you to live the rich life in Christ with me. Each and every day, building the 4 Pillars:
Divine Identification
GodX Vision
Rock Foundation
24-hour Activation
Join me in our SpeakChrist RichLife Club where we implement it daily.
Thank You, Father, for the rich life that I have in Christ.
I love You.
Live the rich life in Christ today:
Are you chasing after money?
Stop it. You are rich in Christ.
In His Kingdom, there is abundance and overflow.
In Jesus, you have abundance and overflow.
Mark 8:7-9 GNBDK
[7] They also had a few small fish (with 7 loaves). Jesus gave thanks for these and told the disciples to distribute them too. [8-9] Everybody ate and had enough — there were about 4,000 people. Then the disciples took up seven baskets full of pieces left over.
Now Your Turn
(Questions to ask yourself when scripture journaling)
What verses spoke to me strongly and powerfully from the scripture readings?
What is God saying to me in these verse or verses?
What does God want me to do today?
Journal prompts of the day:
Are you chasing after money or after God?
Is your life having abundance and overflow?
Have you tried thanking God for everything and anything?
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