What would you say if you could buy a car, drive it for 5 years, and sell it for $200 less than you paid for it? That is exactly what I just did.
We bought what I affectionately called "The Beast" for $500. I drove it, my dog co-piloted it, we hauled more stuff than I can think of, used it to pull down a tree and drove it as our winter car to get us out when nothing else could for 5 years. And I just sold it for $300.
You would have been impressed if I had been talking about a $20,000 or even $2000 car. It all depends on the value of what you are talking about.
I love Red Green. I love it when he said, "I want to talk to all you middle-aged guys out there." Because you always knew that whatever he was going to say, you could relate to it. It had value because it fit your life.
The Bible fits our lives when it talks about depreciation. No, it doesn't give advice on your asking price on your next vehicle. It won't tell you blue book value. It's another kind of depreciation that the Bible talks about.
"I want to talk to all you middle-aged guys out there." You will understand biblical depreciation. You have lived long enough, endured the wasteland of sin long enough, and hopefully experienced victory as you have lived for the One who calls Himself "Living Water".
Jeremiah 17:5-8 says:
5 This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
God says of those who don’t trust in Him, but instead trust in other things: You will be like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water. (Isaiah 1:30)
But you don't have to be. You don't have to wither, or depreciate. You can have a life that flourishes, a life with joy, a life filled with peace, and what Jesus called Abundant Life.
Have you placed your trust in Jesus? Would you describe your life as a tree by the river bank, with your roots going deeply into the Living Water that is Jesus?
Or are you dry, barren, with withered leaves, and in search of the water that will revive and refresh you? Do you need a drink of Living Water?
Trust Jesus. He will make your life fruitful. Come thirsty to the well and drink deeply. And find Jesus waiting there for you.
We bought what I affectionately called "The Beast" for $500. I drove it, my dog co-piloted it, we hauled more stuff than I can think of, used it to pull down a tree and drove it as our winter car to get us out when nothing else could for 5 years. And I just sold it for $300.
You would have been impressed if I had been talking about a $20,000 or even $2000 car. It all depends on the value of what you are talking about.
I love Red Green. I love it when he said, "I want to talk to all you middle-aged guys out there." Because you always knew that whatever he was going to say, you could relate to it. It had value because it fit your life.
The Bible fits our lives when it talks about depreciation. No, it doesn't give advice on your asking price on your next vehicle. It won't tell you blue book value. It's another kind of depreciation that the Bible talks about.
"I want to talk to all you middle-aged guys out there." You will understand biblical depreciation. You have lived long enough, endured the wasteland of sin long enough, and hopefully experienced victory as you have lived for the One who calls Himself "Living Water".
Jeremiah 17:5-8 says:
5 This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
God says of those who don’t trust in Him, but instead trust in other things: You will be like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water. (Isaiah 1:30)
But you don't have to be. You don't have to wither, or depreciate. You can have a life that flourishes, a life with joy, a life filled with peace, and what Jesus called Abundant Life.
Have you placed your trust in Jesus? Would you describe your life as a tree by the river bank, with your roots going deeply into the Living Water that is Jesus?
Or are you dry, barren, with withered leaves, and in search of the water that will revive and refresh you? Do you need a drink of Living Water?
Trust Jesus. He will make your life fruitful. Come thirsty to the well and drink deeply. And find Jesus waiting there for you.
