Category: From Pastor

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…Love in Giving (WATCH HERE).

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“All the church wants is my money.”

This “common” claim is one I honestly don’t fully understand or know where and why this stereotype has caught on.  I suppose I do know when you used to “buy” your pew in church for your family and the more you paid, the more prominent position you got.  I have heard of churches asking their members for their annual income and then “billing” their parishioners for a percentage of their income.  TV preachers often make prominent the call for donations with the incentive of a book or other gift. There have been times in my ministry where our expenses were exceeding the gifts of God’s people and so an appeal went out to encourage additional gifts. So I guess I can understand why some feel that way.

And to be honest, I am guilty of not always communicating the gift of giving very well either.  So let’s try this morning.

Giving is my response to what God has given to me in Jesus.

I am not giving to a budget.  I am not giving out of obligation.  I am not giving to gain God’s goodness.  I am giving generously because God has given generously to me.

Giving is my privilege to steward a small portion of God’s creation.  

When I recognize that the “earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” I start asking a different question.  Instead of asking, “What do I want to do with MY money?”, I ask, “Lord what do YOU want me to do with YOUR money?”  This changes the perspective of what I have.  I recognize I am just to be a faithful steward of those gifts.

Giving is my way to honor the Lord.

Giving touches on many aspects of our faith.  By giving to God first in my monthly budget, I am trusting that God will take care of all my needs.  By giving to God generously, I mirror the generosity which I have been given. When I give to the Lord first it is an expression that the love of God is priority in my heart over love of wealth.  Even King Solomon, who was entrusted with great wealth, recognized this truth.  

Proverbs 3:9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Giving is guided by the Lord’s Word.

Perhaps we wonder “what” or “how much” should I give.  Bottom line the amount is what your heart can give cheerfully.  

2 Corinthians 9:7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

If your heart is looking for guidance, decide on a percentage of your income to set aside.

1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

If you’re looking for a suggested percentage, consider the tithe or 10%…it’s biblical and easy to figure out! 

Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Yes, your local church receives this gift and your church then stewards those gifts for the kingdom ministry which God is leading you to carry out.  The Church is about Jesus.  The Church is about the Gospel.  By your generous giving, the Church can carry out its mission to bring Jesus to people and by your generous giving, you honor the Lord!

 

Apply: Evaluate the percentage you are giving to the Lord through your local church.  Is this percentage generous? Given cheerfully? Honoring the Lord?

Prayer: Lord forgive me for stinginess of heart and lack of giving.  Encourage and empower me by your Spirit to give generously to honor you and be a blessing to your Church.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…Love in Giving (WATCH HERE).

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Do you love God?

Just like yesterday’s question, “Do you love money?” elicits a quick “NO,” so this question will elicit a quick, “Of course!”

Great!  Every Christian will love God.  The challenge is winning the battle against our sinful nature that wants to love money.  By God’s grace and the Spirit’s power, we can overcome and the love of God will grow in its priority and prominence in our life.

But what does loving God look like when it is priority over money?

First we live in gratitude and thanksgiving.

All of our Christian life is lived in response to the love that God has shown to us.  God is the one who first gave to us:  John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The gift of God is what engenders our heart to love God and to live for him in every aspect of life.  Our Christian living is a simple response to the life God has given for us and to us.  Giving and generosity are no different.  God gave.  We give.

Second when we love God, it shows up with contentment.

When we realize that everything in the world is the Lord’s and he has entrusted a portion of that to us, we realize that God is the perfect giver and has given us what we need for today.  When we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Give us today our daily bread” is really a prayer for contentment as well.  Our western culture struggles with materialism.  Every marketer is taught to make the viewer discontent with some aspect of life.  We can buy things at a click of a button and walk into stores just to see if there is something else we “need.”  So when I can see the advertisement, walk out of a store only buying things I truly need or visiting Amazon sparsely is indication we are content with what we have been given.  Contentment does not mean we are lazy, it means our heart is at peace with what we have.  It is free from fear and worry and full of trust that the Lord loves me and will continue to provide for me. 1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 

Third, we live in generosity.

A heart that is filled with the love of God lives in grateful response to the gift that God has given to me. The Apostle Paul highlights the Macedonian churches and their generosity.  They pleaded to give.  THey didn’t use poverty or persecution as an excuse not to give.  They were going through challenging times, but the joy in their heart welled up into rich generosity.  We can learn from them!  This is what happens when the love of God overflows from our heart into generosity. 

2 Corinthians 8:1-4 And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints…. 7 But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 

When the love of God fills your heart, it shows in many and varied ways.  These are just a few ways the heart responds…enjoy many more ways that the generosity of God drives your generosity!

 

Apply: How has the love of God flowed from your heart? How might your heart be filled with thanksgiving, contentment and generosity?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for giving me your best.  Forgive me for shallow thankfulness and fill my heart with thankfulness and generosity.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…Love in Giving (WATCH HERE).

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Do you love money?

For followers of Christ, the quick answer is, “Of course not.” Of course the new nature that God’s Spirit has worked in you quickly responds, “I don’t love money.”  Praise God for this.

But what about the sin nature that resides in you?

If we dismiss the possibility of loving money, we quickly fail to recognize the very real spiritual battle that is at war in our hearts.

Our sinful nature LOVES money and wants that reality to permeate and influence all you do.  It seeks to override the Spirit-given nature and consume us with a love for money.

But it’s sneaky and deceptive.

Loving money is not something we necessarily wake up and say, “Wow, I really love money and can’t wait to get more.”

Loving money shows up in subtle ways.

Loving money gets us to think we can love both money and God at the same time.  It says I can prioritize my career right now to make the extra dollars and then when I gain the raise I will focus on the Lord more.

Loving money shows up by getting us to worry about tomorrow and inflation and the stock market and our 401k’s and our mortgage and everything related to money.   The love of money keeps our hearts at unrest because we are always concerned about having enough.

Loving money shows up when obtaining one income level just leads to us thirsting for the next raise, sacrificing family time, our physical health and our time in church to pursue it.

Loving money makes bargains with God to assume “He will understand” this season of life.

But here’s the reality.

Money is a lying master.  Whatever narrative it is playing in your mind, probably is deceiving you.  Consider these truths the Bible puts forward:

Having all the wealth in the world is not the greatest profit.

Matthew 16:26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Loving money never is satiated…you never have enough.

Ecclesiastes 5:10   Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.  This too is meaningless.

Loving money leads to other sins…deception, fraud, white lies and more.  Loving money can gain material things but lead us to lose the faith that gives us the eternal treasures of heaven.

1 Timothy 6:9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

To be clear, money is not evil.  Remember this is a heart issue, a heart battle.  The LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil.  Serving money as our first priority leads us away from the love of God.

The love of money is a sin to repent of and rejoice that Jesus died for it too.  But to be sure, the love of money is a strong temptation we should never dismiss or underestimate.

Apply: Where and how does the love of money creep into your heart?

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for when my heart is captivated by the love of money.  Forgive me and restore my focus on what is truly valuable and eternal – life with you.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…Love in Service (WATCH HERE).

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Giving and generosity can be a touchy topic in the church.  When one starts to give direction to bank accounts and budgeting, it gets pretty personal.  Yet of all the topics which Jesus teaches on there are over 2000 passages in the Bible that talk about money.  A large number of parables that Jesus teaches speak to money topics and three of the 10 commandments speak directly to my interaction with material things.

So why so much time spent on money?

Perhaps the generic charge, “All the church talks about is money” or “All the church wants is my money” is shallow at best, very wrong at worst.

However, if the topic of giving and generosity is made in the context of dollars and sense and the appeal and ask is always about more money, one can understand the frustration of parishoners.

But here’s the truth.  Giving is not a dollar and sense issue.  Giving is a heart issue.

Because it’s a heart issue, that’s why Jesus deems it so important to guard our heart against the love of money and free it by the love of God.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

We often think about “having” money.  Jesus points out the reality that our hearts can be convinced to “serve” money.  That means that our heart and our lives become slaves to money (or to God).  Money has the potential to be our master.

How so?

It controls what we do.  Money can quickly become the priority of our lives.  Our focus can become making as much money as possible.  Our focus can be spending the countless hours at work to gain a higher paying position or earning a substantial year-end bonus.  Money can give us options that take our time and energy.  Recreation and travel can take us away from time with Jesus.  Having a lot of stuff can mean a lot of time taking care of that stuff.  Money can easily call our name, command our attention, and control our daily actions.

In this verse Jesus doesn’t tell us which one to follow, he just challenges by saying “You can’t do both.”  As Christians we’d love to have all the wealth and what it offers AND love God.  This is possible, but we can’t allow a mixed loyalty.  It is one or the other…God or money.

When a Christian leader from an African country was asked about what he noticed was the “hidden sin” of American Christianity, he quipped, “You have buildings built just to store stuff.”  His point?  Materialism has crept into the norm of American lifestyle and every Christian, but perhaps American Christians a bit more, is tempted to love money, things, stuff more than God and as a result life becomes about serving them more than serving God.

So let’s start off the week on giving and generosity by repenting of our love of money and our willingness to let it be our master.  Our heart can have only one loyalty.  By God’s grace and forgiveness, I pray that in my heart and yours any serving of money is quickly replaced by serving God…for he is the one who gave us that which is most valuable, his Son Jesus.

 

Apply: Where in your life does the love of money creep in…or take full control?  Ask the Lord to forgive and realign your heart to first and only serving God.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for my heart that is easily deceived into thinking money and material wealth are what is most important.  Change my heart and my focus to only love and serve you! AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on Sunday’s Message: I Love my church…Love in Service (WATCH HERE).

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Why use our gifts?

Every gift that we receive has an intention from the giver that the gift be used.  I get that sometimes we receive gifts and are not sure how to use them.  Other gifts we let sit on a shelf and never get used.  Spiritual gifts are given to us to be used.  Like a superhero who doesn’t use his superpowers, is a Christian who doesn’t use the gifts the Spirit has given.  A superhero uses the powers he has to right a wrong in the community in which they live.  So it is for God’s people.  The Spirit of God gives us gifts to use for the needs of the community in which we live.

Jesus saw the need and prayed for people to use their gifts to reach these communities.

Matthew 9:35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” 

If Jesus is praying for something it is a need.

What Jesus sees is people who need him, need his love and grace.

What Jesus sees is people who are wandering through life with out any spiritual guidance, protection or peace.  He wants the people to experience what he has to give, but he cannot get to them all.

So he prays for more workers.

The very next verse indicates the answer to his prayer:

Matthew 10:1 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 

The disciples closest to him were the answer to his prayers.  To these disciples he gave special gifts that they would need to carry out the ministry trip on which he was sending them.

Do you suppose the prayer and the answer are similar today?

Do you see what Jesus sees?  Do you see people around you without any spiritual guidance, protection or peace?  Do you see people in need of Jesus’ love and grace?

Do you hear Jesus pray, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”  Do we ask the Father to “send out workers into his harvest field”?

We do.

But do we expect to be the answer to Jesus prayer?

Not always.

But we should.

Just like Jesus calls his followers to be the answer to his prayer, so he calls us to be the answer to his prayer.  He has called us to follow him in faith and his Spirit has given us gifts to use to bring people to Jesus.

Our family needs us because they need Jesus.

Our community needs us because they need Jesus.

Our country needs us because they need Jesus.

So out of love for Jesus and out of love for the people he came to save, we serve to the best of our ability with the gifts God’s Spirit has given us to bring Jesus to the hearts of people who desperately need him.

 

Apply: What opportunities has God given you to use your gifts to serve him? 

Prayer: Lord Jesus thank you for calling me off the comfort of my couch to be active in serving you.  Thank you for equipping me for what you have called me to do and the privilege to be part of your kingdom work.