Remaining Faithful to the End

Two men owned farms side by side. One was a bitter atheist, the other a devout Christian. Constantly annoyed at the Christian for his trust in God, the atheist said to him one winter, “Let’s plant our crops as usual this spring, each the same number of acres. You pray to your God and I’ll curse him. Then come October, let’s just see who has the bigger crop.”

When October came, the atheist was delighted because his crop was larger. “See, you fool,” he taunted. “What do you have to say for your God now?”

“My God,” replied the other farmer, “doesn’t settle all his accounts in October.”

God’s compensation for both believers and unbelievers is usually deferred. But a day is coming upon all men, when the announcement from heaven will ring out, “The time has come for judging … and for rewarding” (Revelation 11:18). This will be the “appointed time” of judgment (l Corinthians 4:5). “At the proper time,” Paul says elsewhere, “we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” So he encourages us, “Let us not become weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9).

From In Light of Eternity by Randy Alcorn, page 129

Great Resource for Stewardship Research

I just found a great site today if you want to learn more about stewardship.

The Generous Giving website has three search functions that you might find useful:

• You can search the Bible about money and giving.
• You can search for sermons about stewardship (some are audio, some written out).
• You can search about money and giving by author as well.

The Wind Beneath the Wings

Mike and I just had the privilege of attending Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, where Chuck Swindoll is the senior pastor.

Pastor Chuck taught extensively from Romans 12: 3 – 8 this past Sunday. When he dug into verses 6 – 8 about spiritual gifts, he said “the giver is the wind beneath the wings of the visionary.”

I especially liked that word picture of how important giving is and how the giver is a part of the ministry.

Do I know a ministry that speaks to my heart? Do I support that ministry in prayer and financially?

If the answer to either question is “no,” then I need to find a ministry that shares the same vision that I have for reaching people and I need to begin supporting it.

If the answer to both questions is “yes,” then I am sharing in that ministry’s impact on people’s lives.

A Jubilee

I decided a few days ago to have my own version of a Sabbath Rest. Every seven years, the Hebrews were to allow the land to rest. On the fiftieth year, the Jubilee, slaves were freed and all debts canceled.

I could use a rest and the freedom that goes with it! I have such a backlog of paperwork and other things to do that it is impossible to catch up, so I am starting over.

I spent a good part of 2007 tossing things out from various closets and am now mostly left with unfinished paperwork. And yet, I felt chained when I looked at all the things that were left undone.

Now that I have a Jubilee mindset, each day for the last few days, I have gone into various areas of the house where paper is stashed and cleaned them out to what is only a few weeks old. I am giving myself the freedom to have a fresh, new start for 2008.

My goal will be to have the stray piles of stuff gone by the end of the year, as well as some new good habits to keep things under control so I am managing myself well. I am expecting to be freed from pressing and nagging to do’s. I am hoping to have more time for what I really want to be doing. I may even think about doing this again in seven years.

Too Busy With Things

“We have too much stuff!” I fumed as I stumbled past a pile of stuff in the garage.

This wasn’t the first time I had hit my limit on the things we had accumulated. I had been trying to “purge” the house for several years now. I felt like Eustace in C. S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Eustace was unsuccessful in removing his dragon skin. Only Aslan could do it. For Eustace, the skin symbolized his sin that only Christ could remove. For me, the clinging dragon skin represents all the trivial possessions and projects that consume my time and energy. I have been pruning things out of my life and home with a goal to simplify my life, but it is now time to let Jesus dig deeper than I had been able to do on my own.

It was a revelation to me to learn recently that my struggles to downsize my possessions affect my availability to share Christ. The top four hindrances, in order, that keep Christian workers from sharing their faith are exactly in reverse order from Christians in general (The Top Four – Part One). They are:

1. Busyness
2. Not knowing nonbelievers
3. Lack of know-how
4. Fear

Busyness is definitely an issue for me. I am often too busy with possessions and projects to give people a little droplet of my time that can mean an ocean of eternity for them! I remember experiencing real freedom in this area during Hurricane Frances in 2004. We had evacuated to my son’s apartment, taking only the bare essentials with us. I finally had time that weekend! Without all the things to distract me, I had lots of time available for my family. Unfortunately, we returned home to an unwanted skylight and a puddle of brown water, with blobs of soggy pink insulation in the kitchen, so we were more-than-our-usual busy for a long time after that.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus explains that the seed sown among thorns symbolized “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things.” What was the result of sowing seed among thorns? The thorns choked the plant, “making it unfruitful.”

Some very good questions to ponder from this parable are:
• Am I caught up in the concerns of this life? And in desires for more things?
• Am I deceived by what I own? Is something taking the place of God in my life?
• Am I unfruitful because of what I own? Or because of how much I own?
• Am I willing to let Jesus help me “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” so I can more easily run the race God has given me? (See Hebrews 12: 1 – 3)

As Eustace explained after his experience with Aslan: “Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off – just as I thought I’d done it myself the other three times, only they hadn’t hurt . . .”

I want to be free to serve, not entangled by so many things. To go deeper may be painful in some respects, but I am ready. It’s not worth holding on to things if they are hindering me in my availability and usefulness.

P. S. If you would like encouragement in sharing your faith, you might be interested in my blog on Way-of-Life witnessing, The Sower.

Circumstances vs. Scriptures

“I stopped tithing and then I learned that I needed an expensive prescription,” Janis explained. “The amount I would have given was exactly enough to cover the prescription!”

“Wow!” I thought, as red flags popped up in my mind. “God promises to supply our needs. (Philippians 4:19) God also encourages us to give, not to stop giving! (Malachi 3: 6 – 11)”

Janis was excited at the “coincidence” that seemed to confirm her decision.

I was concerned that her circumstances did not line up with Scripture and that she was deceived.

I had an opportunity later to write Janis:

“I believe you should be giving financially as an expression of your praise and trust in God in the midst of need. This is a Biblical concept and also fits your role as an encourager who gives praise to God in the midst of need. You were amazed that you had the money for your expensive prescription. I can imagine a different scenario where you had continued to give and God supplied what you needed for the prescription or that you would have not needed the prescription at all. I cannot guess here what He would have done. I just know that God supplies our needs.”

If you find yourself in a similar situation, take a good hard look at your circumstances, study the Scriptures and ask for God’s wisdom. It’s especially important to gather advice from those who know the Word or have studied Biblical financial concepts. A good online resource is Crown Financial Ministries.

Bread or Seed?

A favorite passage of mine is 2 Corinthians 9: 6 – 15. By faith, the sower casts the seed away from him; seed that could make bread for his family today. He trusts God to provide the bread he needs and to multiply what he sows.

Notice in verse 10 that God multiplies the seed, not the bread. Bread represents the needs that God promises to supply; seed is for God to use to bless others and for the Harvest.

We are to sow generously and cheerfully, not reluctantly nor under compulsion, and also that blessing may come to someone. Our cheerful giving (verses 7 – 8 ) results in our having enough for ourselves AND abundance for donations. If we give by faith, He will multiply what we give (verse 9 – 11). Giving results in praise to God and prayers for the saints (verses 11 – 14). For instance, if I am passing God’s blessings along by investing in a ministry, I will want to be praying for that ministry and praising God for what He does through them.

Do we keep God’s blessings for ourselves, living beyond our needs instead of blessing others? Could those extra things that came my way, really be meant for someone else?

My desire is for God to open my eyes to see the seed (material goods and money) that should be blessing someone and to release my grip when I am holding on to something instead of trusting Him to meet my need. I need His grace to joyfully cast those things away from me, as a sower of His blessings in others’ lives.

“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” ~ 2 Corinthians 9:11 – 12

Two for One

When the weekly ad for our favorite supermarket comes, I scan it for the red letters, Buy One, Get One Free.

Obviously, when we were feeding three teenagers, this was a great way to stretch a food budget for a family of five.

Now, with just three of us, most of those bargains are not worth it, as the food would spoil before we could eat it.

So, why do I still look for those big red letters every week? For the needy. Since we can afford regular prices, one item is for us and the free item goes to a food bank Sometimes both or all of the items go to the food bank.

John the Baptist said it best: “The man with TWO tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” (emphasis mine – Luke 3:11 NIV)

True Riches

I was reading in Light of Eternity by Randy Alcorn. He was discussing the parable of the unjust steward in Luke 16: 1 – 13. I was particularly impressed by his thought of “true riches.”

God reminds us repeatedly in His Word that He owns everything and we are stewards of what He gives us. It can be challenging to live that way and keep that mindset.

In this life, God desires for us to be faithful stewards of our lives: the time, the talents, treasures, opportunities,… that He has given us. If we are faithful with what is His, then He promises us “true riches” in eternity.

One meaning of true riches is that only in Heaven do I have ownership. For the first time, God will give me what I can call “my own.”

Also, true riches are only possible in Heaven where no one can be impoverished by my gain. No one is needy in eternity.

This also raises the thought for me this morning. Is someone missing out because I will not loosen my grip on something that isn’t really mine in the first place?

Stewards of Grace and Gifts

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10

This was a new thought to me that I am a steward of God’s grace and of the spiritual gift He gives me. The gift belongs to Him. I should not be proud about my spiritual gift.

I should be a good steward and use what God has given me. To make the best use of my spiritual gift I can study about it as well as apply it. My gift is to be used for others to the glory of God.