1/18/2015 Is Life Sacred?: Psalm 139:13-16

Do you ever feel that you have no value in this life? Do people and society put you down? Are you simply a random act of creation like the animals and the fish of the sea? The Creator of the universe says no. Jesus, the Messiah says no. We are the ‘crown’ of His creative work.

1/11/2015 Begin... Again II - True Value: Matthew 6:25-26

Giving is not so much a money issue as it is a heart issue. Jesus made it clear that all we have to do is look where our treasure is… and then we will know where our heart is. The Macedonians understood just how ‘generous’ God had been toward us through the ‘giving of himself’ for us in the gospel that they, out of their extreme poverty overflowed with a wealth of generosity. They actually pleaded with the apostles to have the privilege to give! Wow! (2 Cor. 8:4,9 )  

One of the ways we train ourselves in godliness in regard to stewardship is to first of all recognize that we are secure in our Heavenly Father’s care. Anxiety, seemingly in our face at every turn, can be alleviated when we realize that God will provide for our needs (not our wants) because of how highly He values us (Matt. 6:26 ). This will bring great freedom and great generosity in our planned giving to God’s kingdom work. 

It is quite interesting to note that if believers in Christ’s Church gave the tithe (10%) across the board as a minimum, 165 billion dollarswould be available to bless the world and invest in the making of disciples worldwide. Sadly, Christians today are only giving overall 2.5 percent of their income to the Lord’s work whereas in the Great Depression, the Church gave 3.3%. 

So what can we do?

1. Ask God for grace to believe that He values us and therefore will take care of our needs.
2. Sit down at the beginning of this year and pray to the Lord about our giving. Write down the figure of 10% of your income. Pray some more and ask the Lord if this is what He wants you to give. (See 2 Cor. 9:6,7 --- I Cor. 16:1,2)
3. Teach our children the importance of the tithe from Holy Scripture (See Malachi 3:10 , Luke 18:12 , Heb. 7:5 )
4. Let the Lord be ‘Lord of our money’ as He should be Lord of our lives. 

1/4/2015 Begin... Again: I Timothy 4:7

A New Year… not another New Year Resolution please! For me, the important start to a new year has to do with intentionality and goals. God’s amazing grace keeps us living the adventure of faith every year with confidence, looking forward to the final goal of heaven. It’s not about the perfection but rather about the direction of our discipleship walk. His Spirit keeps us going with grace-filled energy to love and serve God and humanity pointing people to the good news of God’s rescue mission for all time.