By Dr. Lee C. Turner
During the Depression a man named Yates owned a sheep ranch in West Texas. Because he didn’t earn enough money to make his ranching operation pay, Mr. Yates was in danger of losing his ranch. His family, like many others, had to live on government subsidy. Day after day, as Mr. Yates grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was greatly troubled over how to meet his financial obligations. Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and informed Mr. Yates that they felt there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat test well, and he signed a lease contract. At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large, and Mr. Yates owned it all! The day he purchased the land he received the oil and mineral rights, yet he had been living on relief, a multimillionaire living in poverty. The problem–he did not know the oil was there. He owned it, but he did not possess it.
My friend, it is possible for a Christian to live in spiritual poverty because he does not know how to use his inheritance. He must learn how to possess his possessions in Christ. Please consider reading, meditating, and looking these key verses up in your favorite Bible Commentaries. (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:1-11; and Colossians 3:1-3)
Seeing this most beautiful truth about your inheritance in Christ is like a gradual dawning.
