1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
HE leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
HE leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for HIS name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:for Thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
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Psalm 23 ...1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Comments by Joan Boney
Often
I receive emails and letters from men who say they are pastors and they
tell of their many works and ask me to give them money.
I do not give them money.
When God authors the work, God also makes the way to do the work.
When
the Lord is your shepherd ... when you are really led by HIM, there is
no want. The fact that they seem to be in need testifies to me of their
work, that the work is of themselves and not authored by God.
It is the same with individuals.
When you follow God "there is no want". You will not be feeling that need if you have been following God, for God will lead you in a way where there will be no want.
Thus David said: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
David also said:
Psalm 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
When
the pastor or individual is begging for money, I know he has not been
following God. Usually his works are his own ideas though often he says
he does them in the name of the Lord.
When God authors the work, God shows you the way to do the work.
An example: In 1980, an angel of the Lord spoke three words to me in the night as I was sleeping. He said: "Hartford, Seattle, KWJS"
I
jumped out of bed ... the sound was so loud in my ear it was like a
trumpet blowing ... I wrote down "KWJS", not wanting to get these
letters mixed up.
This was obviously call letters to either radio or TV. I found it was radio. ? Was God showing me to go on radio? I wouldn't know how to do that, I said to God. Gentle thought: "Call the radio station manager." When
I did that the station manager told me to make an audition tape and
send to him and if it fit their programming he would offer me a
contract. "How much does it cost," I asked. He replied: "$800 a month for 5 days a week / 30 minute per day broadcast."
After talking to the station manager, I asked God how HE wanted me to pay for the broadcasts. A gentle thought followed: "Write the people you know and tell them what happened."
I
knew very few people at that time but I wrote and told them what had
happened and had copies made of the letter and mailed it to them. I
did not ask for money. I do not recall telling them the cost of the
radio broadcasts. I just told them about the 3 words and that I might
be going on radio.
People began sending me money. One man hand carried a check to the door of my apartment.
Within 3 days I had more than enough money to pay for the first month of broadcasts.
In less than a week, I was on radio.
God authored this work ... God also showed the way to pay for the work.
There was no "want" ... There was no "begging" for money.
Everything was authored by God.
I
know many of the works people are trying to do in ministry are their
own ideas and end up being burdens to themselves and they often make
people feel obliged and guilty concerning giving to themselves to pay
for their works.
I get these "guilt" letters all the
time from pastors and individuals as they try to get money from me. I
do not give to them because I understand what they are doing is
extortion as they try to wrestle the money away from me.
Paul
said when a man who is a "brother" is an extortioner, don't even eat
with him ... don't keep company with him ... put him away from you. I
Cor. 5
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Another
problem concerning money is some people want others to pay for their
things rather than cutting back on the things and living another way.
When I was a new Christian, I felt it important for me to get out of debt. I
didn't owe much but I had taken out a small loan from a bank to pay for
merchandise for my business. I made it a goal to repay this loan as
soon as possible and to go another way in future, buying only the
merchandise I was able to pay for at the time.
I cut back on everything until that bank loan was paid. I wouldn't even buy myself a cup of coffee when I was outside my house. Even 50 cents was important to me. I put everything I earned toward paying off that bank loan. Within a short time it was paid in full.
The following scripture became important to me:
Romans 13 ... 8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another:
Another scripture which meant something to me is the instruction given by Paul:
1 Corinthians 7:31 ... And they that use this world, as not abusing it:
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Personal
integrity is important in dealing with godly morality. Some people
(especially ministers) do not have personal integrity. These people
just want us to pay their way. And they demonstrate to us they do not
believe in God. They believe in us as they try to get us to pay their
way.